READYMIX SAYS CONDITIONS EVEN TOUGHER - Building materials group Readymix has reported a pre-tax loss of €6.9m and an operating loss of €7.1m for the first six months of its financial year.
The group says challenging conditions in its sector have worsened in 2009 as demand for its products continues to contract, because of exceptional weakness of the housing and commercial construction sectors.
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SHORTAGE OF RENTAL CARS HITTING TOURISTS - Like many other sectors of the economy, the tourism sector is going through a tough time. And while there is oversupply in certain areas like hotel rooms - which is pushing prices down - there is a serious shortage of cars for rent, pushing prices up.
Paul Redmond from the Car Rental Council of Ireland said that as cars from last year remained unsold because of the weakness in the car market, there was a reluctance by dealers this year to buy cars for supply to the rental sector.
He said there were 6,000 new cars so far registered in the car rental fleet this year, compared with 19,000 last year.
Mr Redmond said tourists would usually pay more to rent a car in July and August, but people who booked late or sought to rent a car on arrival were paying 10-15% more. He said the fleet size was down around 30% at the moment, though the problem would be gone after the UK bank holiday at the end of August.
Mr Redmond said the traditional model of supplying cars for the rental industry had broken down, and there was a need for some intervention. He said this was a big issue for the tourist industry, and could cost it around €200m if it were not sorted out by next year.
Mr Redmond said the Government had decided to phase out a relief scheme introduced in 1990 to provide an incentive for the sector. He called for this move to be suspended for at least next year, and for a scrappage scheme for the sector.
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CURRENCIES - On the currency markets, the euro is trading at $1.4118 and 86.17p sterling.
