Too few Norberts on the move may be a sign of the coming economic downturn
Laura and I drove down to the French Alps yesterday. It’s a long drive but the weather was good and the roads surprisingly quiet. We made good time.
We’ve done the drive many times over the last ten years. It’s only in the last few years that we’ve done it without children in the car. It used to be our children, for the most part, although on one occasion a ‘boyfriend’ of the eldest daughter came with us. But that’s another story, involving, at one point, a debate with immigration officials at Calais as to why we had a ‘minor’ in the car that was no relation. Who knew you needed a letter from parents to take their child abroad? Yes, well.
One of the ways we used to pass the time when the kids were smaller was to look out for Norberts. And different types of Norberts. Instead of Where’s Wally, we had Nail Norbert.
Norberts? There is a European logistics company called Norbert Dentressangle. The name alone was enough to suggest fun. When we drive through France their trucks are usually seen frequently enough to make the game interesting but not at such density to provide a meaningless challenge. (At this point, you may realise why my children bailed out of road trips with us at the earliest opportunity.)
The majority of Norberts are resplendent in red livery. Sometimes they are white. The liquid transporters seem to be white, for the most part. In addition to the red colour, the sides of the trucks are emblazoned with their curvaceously stylised logo — made of the two initials, ND.
Occasionally, a truck would be pulling a trailer; this was a double Norbert, much prized among the first to spot it. (This was usually me, as I had the advantage of driving and seeing what was approaching or I was about to pass before anyone else. Was I slow to use my advantage? Oh, how we laughed.)
Even without the children in the car, I tend to notice Norberts out of habit. As I say, they are common without being ubiquitous. But on this latest trip of 965 kilometres through France I counted three. One of those was a white liquid transporter and the other two were normal red Norberts. No doubles. I may have imagined it but even the two in red I spotted looked slightly worn, their colours almost jaded.
I can think of three possible reasons for this dearth of Norberts. (For the sake of this fairly pointless exercise I’m going to assume that ND have not suddenly fallen foul of all their usual customers.) Firstly, the amount of goods travelling European roads is falling. Secondly, ND is simply cutting back on logistics and branching out into some other business. Thirdly, I just missed them.
I think I can safely discount the third option. Really. The second option seems far-fetched.
Which leaves the first option. Is this a sign that the much heralded second downturn since 2008 is here? Can the volume of goods transported by a single carrier give a clear indication that trading levels are falling? Time — and a little research — may reveal all.
