All holders of an operator's licence should have a registered
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office; I know of operators who conduct their business from council houses, and in one case from a public house. This gives them the edge when quoting rates which can well undercut the rates of an operator which has large office overheads.
Hauliers who are operating on an F licence should have to pay the same road fund licence as those in general haulage. Farmers are doing work that could be carried out by local hauliers, ie moving potatoes from farms to markets, yet these same people complain at the haulage rates for the movement of fertilizers, and in many cases special small vehicles have to be provided for access purposes.
Clearing Houses should be licensed by the MoT, and should be made to have the same credentials as haulage contractors, ie financial amenities.
There is a very strong point in favour of a laid-down tariff system to be adhered to throughout the industry, and let the customer pay the correct rate for the excellent service he is getting.
I am convinced that clearing houses are taking more than the customary 10 per cent. Clearing houses do not have the large road fund licences to pay out, expensive lorries to replace, and very high running costs, but are soon on the phone if a delivery is not made.
Return loads are very important to haulage companies. To return from a journey loaded is the difference between profit and loss, but with some clearing house rates, the loss becomes more because of the tieing up of the vehicle. One may ask why do we do it?
We are hauliers giving a vital service to the nation, 95 per cent of us are honest, hard-working, with a large capital outlay, high running costs, and all we ask is a fair return for this service. Many hauliers are closing down bankrupt and despondent, while those who do not are getting deeper into the red. Many large companies are putting their smaller ie 10 ton lorries off the road because they are so uneconomical, yet they are so necessary to the industry.
How can our industry survive at this rate? Undercutting rates should be abolished and any company holding an operator's licence who commits this offence should have his licence taken away. If a nationalised company gets into the red it is baled out by the Government with taxpayers' money, while private hauliers, the back-bone of the industry, just go under.
If we are to fall in line with the EEC rules, let us have the same system they use with haulage rates ie government laid-down tariffs. I have done my sums very carefully and on my calculations the minimum rate for a 32 ton unit and trailer is 74p per mile. My 18 vehicles for 1977 worked out at 58p per mile.
I have given 25 years of my life to the road haulage industry, but in its present state, how many more years can one survive? If rectified the points that I have made could go a very long way to putting it back on its wheels. M. J. SWINGLER Transport Manager, Kington, Herefordshire.