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23rd January 1992
Page 41
Page 41, 23rd January 1992 — ...to the finished product
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

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Newport-based Cardiff Transport, which describes itself as "mainly a steel carrier", faces some hard times as a result of the closure.

Managing director Carleton Hobbs says, that he spoke to the Ravenscraig bosses just before Christmas and they said there was a chance it could close by this September, although they were hoping for an extension until 1994.

He agrees that it was absolutely typical of British Steel not to tell hauliers about the closure until the last minute: "We would have been able to plan better if we had had more warning," he says, "but now the work will be lost, probably before we are able to replace it."

Cardiff Transport has four depots at Newport, Motherwell, Kidderminster and Sheffield. It has 212 trailers and made a turnover of 2.7m last year — about two thirds of this came from British Steel.

Its Motherwell depot has 12 drivers but also subcontracts on a full-time basis. It has 13 38-tonners, four of which are double-manned to allow overnight trunking.

At present Cardiff Transport carries finished coils of steel from British Steel plants at Llanwern and Port Talbot in South Wales to Scottish destinations, and hackloads overnight with steel slab from Ravenscraig.

The slab from Ravenscraig is superior to that produced in Wales, says Hobbs.

He agrees that rates at Ravenscraig are poor. He says this is because a lot of slab is carried by British Rail, which can afford to accept low rates. Hauliers cannot compete with this and therefore get hit with very low profit margins, he says.

To increase the profit margin on the return load Cardiff Transport also carries two or three pallets of other goods. However, when the slab steel work disappears Hobbs says it will no longer be possible to continue the overnight trunking service.

Hendersons, a small haulier based in Langwathby, Cumbria has reacted shrewdly. It has been hauling for British Steel for more than 20 years, but last year when the

Ravenscraig strip mill closed Hendersons owner Tony Henderson realised that it was time to pull out of a failing market: "We saw the writing on the wall and we are surviving because we diversified."

His main customers are beer manufacturer Tennants, BP subsidiary Youngs Detergents and pallet manufacturer GKN Chep.

This change required heavy investment. To attract new customers he had to replace his 20 flatbed trailers with secondhand curtainsiders.

He now has 14 curtainsiders and six flatbeds which are used for doing odd jobs: "The new business is easy to unload and not messy, but it's a sad day for heavy industry."

David Malcolm of Glasgow-based WH Malcolm realises he will suffer when the plant closes: "You are absolutely right, we will be badly hit, but we mean to survive."

Malcolm is the main haulier moving slab out of Ravenscraig for export and moving coal in. He has about 30 trucks a day working at the plant and is aware he may have to make redundancies: "We weren't expecting it so soon," he says. 0 by Mary Williams


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