What the Associations Are Doing
Page 49
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S.T.R. DISCUSSES LIVESTOCK HAULAGE.
There was a well-attended'meeting at Wolverhampton, last week, of members of the "Vest Midland Area of A,R.O. The occasion was a discussion of rates for the haulage of livestock. S.T.R., The COMmerciad Motor costs expert, had been asked to attend and address the meeting, as well as to give guidance in assessing rates for this class of haulage. Mr. G. F. Goodwin, secretary of the area, presided.
S.T.R. pointed out that cattle haulage was a particular branch of the industry, and one that might very well have been in the mind of the T.A.C. when it agreed that certain classes of haulage should be subject to discrimination in respect of the general principle of the fixation of rates. S.T.R. likened it to parcels carrying, in that the only practical procedure was, first, to establish a figure for a minimum revenue and then, by ascertaining an average figure for work done, to assess such rates as would earn that minimum revenue.
The meeting commenced shortly after 7 p.m. and finished at 11.45 p.m.. with a decision that S.T.R., having acquired, as the result of the discussion. data concerning the work which a haulier was likely to be able to obtain during a week, should, on the basis of minimum revenue figures which were agreed at the meeting, suggest rates which would earn that revenue,
Delegates to a Hauliers' Sectional
Board. _
Capt. Thompson, having now resigned his office as area delegate to the Hauliers' Sectional Board of A.R.O., Mr. J. H. Male, of Pensnett, Dudley, has been appointed, with Mr. S. Meredith as his deputy.
Devon and Cornwall A.R.O. Says "Be Prepared."
National unpreparedness, at the time of the recent crisis, caused some discussion and led to the passing of an important resolution at a meeting of the Devon and Cornwall Area Committee of A.R.O. at Plymouth, last week. The secretary (Mr. N. J. Bennett) read a letter, originating from the Yorkshire Area, which had been circulated by the head office, emphasizing the national importance of the industry and need for organization.
Mr. C. Hodgson said he felt that represented the feeling of all operators, but the chairman (Mr. K. G. Foster) demurred. He thought it was impolitic to mix the industry's need for recognition with the need for organization in a time of crisis.
Mr. A. H. Black pointed out that at the time of the crisis they all sank their differences, and he asked why they could not do so now in order to demand instructions from the Ministry about what to do if a similar crisis occurred in the future. This was supported by Mr. Hodgson • and the chairman, and when Mr. Black moved a resolution to the effect that the area should suggest to head_ office that A.R.O., the C.M.U.A. and the National Transport Employers' Federation should appmacn the Government, it was seconded by Mr. king and passed.
Road Model in House of Commons.
Members of the Parliamentary Road Group were recently shown the B.R.F. road model, in the House of Commons.
B.R.F. and "Timed Trips."
Mr. Gaston Vincent, of the B.R.F., took part in one of the " timed trip runs, this week, by a prominent news. paper to investigate congestion in London. The Federation is taking a bene-olent interest in the tests. MOTORS HELP FORWARDING AND SHIPPING AGENTS.
Road haulage has helped forwarding and shipping agents in this country to compete with activities which railway and steamship companies carry on outside the scope of their primary purpose. Such was a point emphasized by Mr. J. R. McCormick, of LEP Transport, Ltd., Goole, in discussion following a paper which he read, last week, before the Leeds section of the Industrial Transport Association.
In his paper, Mr. McCormick said that whilst the shipping and fOrwarding agents on the Continent had a more
• or less exclusive right to perform the various functions connected with forwarding and shipping, that position did not apply in this country. On the Continent the steamship companies restricted their activities to the carriage of goods by steamers, and the railways restricted theirs to the provision of rolling stock and the actual hauling of the trucks from point to point.
All the rest of the work necessary to achieve a proper delivery servicecollection of the goods from the manufacturer, delivery to the proper railway despatch-point, issuing of bills of freight, loading into trucks and, at the other end, discharging from the trucks and delivery to the customer-was performed by the forwarding agents.
In England, however, shipping and forwarding agents had been prevented from coming into their own, except when it was a matter of international traffic, by the fact that many steamship companies and dock authorities, and certainly the railway companies, performed a substantial part of the work.
Bressey Report and "Vexatious Delays."
Speaking on behalf of the B.R.F. at the Tottenham Rotary Club, on Monday, Mr. F. G. Bristow, general secretary of the C.M.U.A., said: " The provision of an adequate solution of road problems is a matter of public concern which has been accentuated by the lessons learnt from the recent crisis. It has become plainer than ever that, from the point of view of defence alone, the recommendations of Sir Charles Bressey's Report for the solution of London's traffic problems should be implemented without delay.'' Yet they found Sir Charles himself, said Mr. Bristow, referring to 'vexations delays " in a recent speech, and recommending the setting up of a small improvement-trust to get on with the job. That something drastic must be done if the Report was not to be for-. gotten was made evident by the fact that, when Sir Charles made his speech on November 15 not one of the 150 local authorities affected had even replied to requests for their views on the proposals!