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UNITE AND FIGHT • It seems to me that the
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time has now definitely arrived, even if you thought it had not before, for the whole of our industry to unite and increase haulage rates within this country to the standard that they should be.
Following this year's Budget, there is no way that hauliers can absorb such increases in their costs. Fuel will not only rise by the nine pence per gallon that the Chancellor put on, but fuel companies will find their distribution costs have also risen therefore increasing the price to us as operators even more.
We are a tipper operator, and therefore must be one of the largest sectors of our industry to use eight-wheelers, with the VED on these now exceeding that of a 38-tonner, pressure will also have to be put on customers to pay a premium for loads requested on these particular vehicles, if not I can see the eight-wheeler slowly disappearing.
I am 23-years-old and meet a lot of young people within the haulage industry through the Road Haulage Association's YES section and we are constantly being told, from manufacturers to the older present day operators, that we are the future of this industry and that without us, and people like us, the industry would not continue. 1, therefore, urge all operators to just this once stick together for increased rates, otherwise this industry will have no future.
M W Gough,
A E Cough & Sons, Llandrindod Wells, Powys.
CHEAP AT HALF THE PRICE • I thought your readers might like to hear of a recent incident involving my company quoting for a medium-sized dedicated transport contract involving five vehicles for a five-year period.
Our presentation was submitted after several meetings involving my sales manager and myself, and a great deal of work was put into it. Immediately on receipt of our quotation a phone call was received by me saying: "Yes we like it, can we meet?" from the customer. A few weeks later: "Sorry, we have to cancel etc, etc."
Then the letter. I quote: "We feel the contract offer is quite reasonable with one exception, the daily charge", which of course was the charge. It goes on: "If you could reduce this by 50% we could be interested."
I am at a loss to understand how some people can actually think that a transport company, after a great deal of "cheese paring", can actually reduce its costs by 50%! Thank goodness not all of our quotes meet this sort of response, but having said that, 1 do think customers buying transport think it is a bit like raw material and therefore when times are hard, rates can be slashed.
J L Davies,
Managing director, Hammond Transport, Redhill, Surrey.