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Reasons for State ownership not convincing, says Aims
Page 21
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THE ROAD haulage industry has increased its efficiency by nearly 60 per cent in a decade with hardly any increase in heavy goods vehicles, while thousands of small and medium-sized haulage firms continue to survive in what is a keenly competitive industry. Yet, says Aims of Industry in a booklet published last week, this is the industry which is now threatened by part nationalization under Mr Wedgwood Benn's plans.
In the booklet, How not to regenerate road haulage, it is, stated that while road, haulage continued to satisfy demand and to increase its efficiency, any political party wishing to take it over, wholly or in part, must find. reasons more convincing than have so far been given. Mr Wilson, says Aims, suggested at the last Labour Party conference that nationalization of "identifiable sections" of road haulage was needed to "redress the balance" between road and rail and to control "the juggernaut". But widespread measures of control are already in force or in the pipeline — lorry routes, restrictions of movements, licensing of hauliers. If, in spite of this and other legislation any Government considers, its control over hauliers is insufficient, it can strengthen the powers of the Licensing Authorities — as has happened in the new Road Traffic Act or persuade them to use their existing powers more rigorously.
The booklet points out that all those who believed that transport should be under State ownership had clearly not learned a lesson from the 1947 nationalization. Aims recalls that a gap immediately opened up between the services of the British Transport Commission and the services required by trade and industry.
Mr Benn's White Paper may mean no more than the acquisition of some of its competitors by the already State-owned National Freight Corporation. But, the booklet states, the NFC would probably not welcome compulsory acquisition. It has promoted the concept that road transport operates best in small units and under State control the NFC would be unlikely to be able to dis pose of parts of its activities as it wished.
The booklet also notes that the TUC has produced a statement on road haulage which recognized that environmental and social considerations have to be set against efficiency, flexibility and the door-to-door capability of the road haulage operator. It did not seem to have occurred to the TUC, concludes Aims, that these desirable attributes might disappear once the operators are put into the nationalization straitjacket.
How not to regenerate road haulage is available from Aims of Industry, 5 Plough Place, Fetter Lane, London EC4A IAN, price 5p post free.