Jumping the gun
Page 14
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A brigadier who used to exhort everyone to "do it now" had his guns spiked by a battery that he was going to inspect. As he approached the battery office he saw painted all over the roof: We did it yesterday."
The battery commander might well have been John Farrant, managing director of Southern British Road Services Ltd, whose Clearfreight general haulage brokerage organisation, he is at pains to point out, anticipated by 15 months the Price Commission's finding that the road haulage industry needed better arrangements for allocating traffic, particularly return loads.
More than 2,000 independent hauliers are now participating in the scheme — an increase of 42 per cent during the year. Some of them are working for Clearfreight for at least half their time. Turnover in the first eight months of the year rose by 36 per cent after taking am of inflation.
John admits that in tremis certain traffic been handled at a slight where it could be subsidi by a large block of profit work from the same c tomer. The net margin Southern BRS is five cent, which is rather less t most clearing houses (if J will pardon the expressi demand. It suggests that haulier is getting a fair r and the customer a bargai