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Rivalry ; orts May Boost DIRECT EXPORT

2nd May 1958, Page 120
2nd May 1958
Page 120
Page 121
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Page 120, 2nd May 1958 — Rivalry ; orts May Boost DIRECT EXPORT
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

Says P. A. C. Brockington, A.M.I.Mech.E. pORT charges form a high proportion of the expense of operating any type of sea-going vessel, and on normal shipping services the higher the ratio of port-time to sea-time the greater will be the cost per mile. The claim made by some hauliers in this country that direct-export charges could be greatly reduced if the Transport Ferry Service, or a rival shipping line, used a shorter sea route lacks substance when the estimated gain

is based on sea-mileage considerations alone.

Good port facilities will continue to offer a decisive advantage unless a shorter route, combined with adequate facilities, could provide a substantial overall reduction in the average length of haul.

Moreover the haulage capacity of local operators is of basic importance, and regulations favourable to the use of United Kingdom trailers for internal deliveries would enable haulage rates on the Continent to be reduced. The fees charged by forwarding agents and their attitude to direct export are also important.

In any kind of transport service, financial return is dependent upon loading in both directions as well as charges, and the relatively large capacity of the ferry boats requires that traffic flow be concentrated if operations are to be economic. And until the volume and diversity of the outward and return traffic available justifies a number of different sea routes to be used by individual ferry boats, it is essential to organize the service to cater for the main flow of traffic that has been established and the potential of the near future.

Industrial towns in the Rhine Valley in Germany and centres in Italy as far south as Rome are of particular value to direct-export trading, and the traffic gives greater promise of rapid expansion than any other. A shorter sea route than the one from Tilbury to Antwerp would not favour this traffic.

At least, that is the view of the majority of hauliers and agents with whom I discussed direct export during a recent tour of Belgium, Germany and Holland, and it is underlined by the Dutch hauliers' claim that Rotterdam, some 45 miles north of Antwerp, is the ideal port for direct export. There has always been intense rivalry between Antwerp and Rotterdam.

The authorities in Antwerp have made plans to provide improved facilities at a northern quay of the port. In Rotterdam an end-loading platform of the floating type with an articulated ramp, specially constructed for the ferry boats three years ago, is kept in good repair in readiness for the service. Rotterdam claims that use of

the port would reduce sea time by al least four hours and that this saving, combined with better trunk roads: would reduce delivery times to Germany and the south.

Antwerp refers with pride to the reputation of the port as being the "fastest in Europe," and says that a ship which requires four days to unload in Rotterdam can be turned round in Antwerp in two days. It is emphasized by Rotterdam that there are no taxes levied on vehicles visiting Holland.

Belgian freight agents concede that Rotterdam's port charges might be lower, but believe that Belgian hauliers are capable of expanding their services more readily than Dutch operators, and that they give a service which could not be challenged by the Netherlands hauliers for big movements.

In a leaflet published by the Transport Ferry Service last year, it was forecast that commercial traffic through Antwerp would increase to such an extent that it would be necessary to provide an ancillary service to Rotterdam. Some Belgian hauliers claimed Ostend as the ideal terminal.

My reference to the economic value 31 a low ratio of port-time to sea-time will not satisfy many of those who aave advocated a Dover-Calais service. Whilst it is admitted by some freight igents in Belgium and Holland that levelopments in France may !.ventually justify a separate service to I French port mainly for French :raffle, operators in both countries pint out that transport rates are very Ugh in France, that although the French. railways are the pride of both he Government and the people, heavy -oad taxes are necessary to offset high -ail losses, that the hauliers prefer rigid /chides to articulated and that many 31 the roads are poor.

Allowance must be made for a latural bias on the part of these lauliers against the transfer of traffic .o another port, but concentration of Continental traffic at a French port would undoubtedly offer many serious lifficulties unless the French authoriies made special concessions. It is ilso relevant that the Dover docks !acilities are already overtaxed during .he summer months.

Practically every haulier on this side 3f the Channel with whom I have dis:ussed direct export has stated that the .1-.`ontinental operator "has all the

jam" because he has free use of the British trailer and normally operates the vehicle for the larger part of the overall mileage. In the opinion of Belgian hauliers, United Kingdom operators are the more fortunate because, on balance, their expenditure on new equipment is lower, and the fact that they always run with their own trailers has the great merit that it reduces empty running.

In contrast to the carriage of containers, British trailers cannot be employed for the transport of goods to Antwerp (or other centres in Belgium) other than for loads destined for Britain. I was assured that if return loads could be collected for distribution in Belgium lower rates would generally be quoted.

Another factor unfavourable to the Belgian haulier is that the trailer licence covers the tractor, so that dispatching goods by ferry in a Belgian trailer deprives the haulier of a vehicle having a greater operational value than its British counterpart costing a comparable amount. The general use of larger trailers on the Continent is an additional disadvantage in that most types are not legally acceptable in this country.

Providing special trailers suitable for direct-export traffic is costly both in terms of capital expenditure and the reduced tonnages that can be carried between Continental centres. A number of ope:-ators has acquired British tractors for hauling trailers with Scarnmell couplings, and in some cases tractors have been equipped with Scammell couplings and dual-braking systems.

I heard reports in Belgium that a minority of British hauliers possessing meagre knowledge of conditions on the Continent had been disparaging of Belgian hauliers to the point of discourtesy during visits to Antwerp as guests of the Transport Ferry Service. This was disquieting news.

The problems I have mentioned are a few of many which create difficulties for the Continental operator who, at this stage in the development of the service, is often asked to supply a tractor for a difficult load that may be held up indefinitely by Customs officials because of faulty documentation.

This is not uncommon. A valuable load which was shown to me in Antwerp had not, I was told, been covered by the necessary documents and delays were expected. The goods were being exported by one of the largest companies in the Midlands.

Failure of the British Government to become signatories of the Draft. Customs Convention for the international transport of goods by road is also a serious handicap, and was criticized without exception by every haulier and agent with whom I discussed the ferry service. Known as the Carnet T.I.R. (Transports International Routiers), this scheme enables the load (carried by an approved type of vehicle) to be sealed in the country of origin by a Customs official and carried through to the appropriate Customs office in the country of destination, border checks being limited to examinations of the seals.

If British operators could use .the Carnet T.I.R. scheme, they would often be deprived of its full benefit because Customs offices can be found only in port areas. On the Continent, offices are located at all the larger and many of the smaller towns.

Because vehicles visiting the country do not require a special licence, Holland is described as "the free transport country," and possibly of even greater significance to the future of direct export is the latitude given by the Dutch regulations to return loads.

For example, a Dutch haulier is not permitted to collect a load (on his own vehicle) in Belgium for a destination in some other country apart from Holland, but a Belgian haulier can return with a load from Germany to a centre in Holland.

The extent to which such latitude would be applied to traffic from Rotterdam is debatable, but according to rumour freedom may be given to foreign-based hauliers to collect all types of traffic from the port.

As in this country, the inevitable opposition from State-owned railways to the free expansion of road transport is an ever-present threat of frustration in Belgium, France and Germany. In Holland I was told by Mr. D. W. Bergeren, head of the technical department of the Nationale Organisatie voor het Beroepsgoederenvervoer Wegtransport and editor of this transport association's journal Beroepsvervoer, that the transport freedom allowed in the Netherlands can in part be credited to the benign attitude of the profitmaking Dutch railways.

Mr. Bergeren confirmed that there was widespread interest among Dutch traders and hauliers in the potential of direct export, and claimed that the lack of tidal troubles in Rotterdam docks, combined with up-to-date facilities, would be of great advantage to the ferry boats.

The association represents 6,000 of the 9,000 professional hauliers in Holland, and although most of these are small operators, ample facilities exist, in Mr. Bergeren's opinion, for hauling all the trailers that may be brought to the country on the ferry.

Partners of Continental Ferry Trailers, Ltd., Barking, H. W. Kiinig and Co., Ltd., Rotterdam, mainly operate low-loaders, whilst the English concern, who are members of the Transport Development Group, run normal platform trailers of 154on capacity and maximum-load types. Because of the restrictions imposed by the Belgian Government, use of the vehicles is restricted to loads for Holland.

Mr. P. S. Driessen, managing director of Kiinig, assured me that ferry boats running to Rotterdam could complete the run in several hours under the lime taken by the same boats operating between Tilbury and Antwerp. In agreement with the general view, he believed that direct export had an important future despite its unsuitability for general traffic on account of the high charges for bulky goods. When elaborating the advantages of the Carnet T.I.R. agreement, Mr. Driessen staled that the time-saving it provided at the Belgium-French border frequently amounted to six hours.

After hearing rumours in this country that a well-known concern were using a combination coupling, I was particularly interested to hear from Mr. Driessen that a combined S.A.E.-D.A.F. coupling was fitted to the Keinig and Continental Ferry Trailer vehicles. This was evolved in Holland.

Goods, mentioned by Mr. Driessen, which would probably be carried by the ferry boats from Holland if the rates were reduced included grapes, lettuce and tomatoes, of which a large tonnage is sent to this country during the season. The target of the Transport Ferry Service should, in his opinion, be the operation of fast boats which could complete the run in about eight hours.

B.R.S. Operations

On a visit to Mr. R. Weber, of the Societe Belgo-Anglaise Ferry Boats, S.A., Brussels, I was able to discuss the practical aspects of operating a haulage service on the Continent for British Road Services, which was first outlined to me by Mr. R. Lyon, of the South Eastern Division or B.R.S.

The S.B.A. operate four MercedesBenz tractors for hauling B.R.S. trailers and are one of a number of companies in various countries which have an interworking arrangement with the British undertaking of a type that may well appeal to private-enterprise operators throughout this country as an example they should follow.

Loads for distribution in France are collected by Messrs. J. Lion, of Paris. A similar Netherlands service is provided by Messrs. Van Gend and Loos, of Utrecht, whilst Swiss traffic is handled by Messrs. Lastag, of Basel.

A German company-associated with the State railways will later organize a similar service. There is close collaboration between all the operators in the group,"

Backloading is entirely the responsi

bility of the Continental company in every case and a direct financial gain is derived from the service. Dependence upon forwarding agents for return loads is therefore normally avoided.

B.R.S. will shortly introduce 15-ton trailers for suitable loads as a measure of economy. Mr. Weber told me that small trailers will also be used to carry loads in the 5-ton category, giving a high weight concentration.

Commenting on the possible transfer of ferry traffic from Antwerp to Rotterdam, Mr. Weber agreed that the Dutch port might offer certain advantages, but claimed that Belgian hauliers should be given due consideration for pioneering the transport system and for promoting its efficiency by every practical means. Such consideration should take the form of continuing the ferry service exclusively to Antwerp for some years.

In an assessment of future trends, Mr. Weber said that the carriage of part loads offered many advantages and multiple difficulties. The most serious problem would probably concern small loads of relatively low-rated produce destined for a distant centre which would have to be carried by a large vehicle at a high loss, or left indefinitely at a depot awaiting reassembly in another composite load. A new addition to the fleet will shortly be made with the purchase of a Commer tractor with a Scammell coupling for hauling Pickfords" lowloaders.

Freight agents in Antwerp for the Transport Ferry Service, "AMA," Agence Maritime Anversoise. S.A., offer an " entirely neutral" advisory service to operators using the ferry boats or who are investigating directexport facilities.

Over 200 Freight Brokers

The company do not act as forwarding agents, but have a full knowledge of these agents' particular interests. There are over 200 in the port and include concerns who specialize in the transport of meat, textiles, steel and other goods produced in large quantities.

Commenting on the work of forwarding agents, Mr. J. Nelles, a director of the dompany, said that their support was essential to the ferry service. About 95 Per cent. of the traffic was, he stated, handled by forwarding agents.

The suggestion had been made at a recent meeting in England with operators that A.M.A. should create a central office to pool information and enable empty running to be reduced to a minimum, but it was evident that British hauliers were not prepared at this stage for the close co-operation necessary for success.

Mr. Nelles reiterated the forecast that the United Kingdom-Rhine trade would continue to develop and would later provide a large volume of directexport traffic. This would be facilitated by recent amendments to the regulations permitting a larger number of German hauliers to collect loaded British trailers from Antwerp.

Belgian hauliers possessed ample capacity to deal efficiently with a large increase in traffic, and the port was better suited to an expansion Of directexport traffic than Rotterdam. The boast of the Dutch railways that they made a profit was based on a fallacy. The railways did not run at a loss because staff pension costs were met by the Government.

The largest two operators in Belgium are Messrs. Camerman and Messrs. L. Van Gaever, who respectively operate fleets of about 85 and 70 vehicles.

The view of some English hauliers that Belgian operators will not give a consistently good service to British users of the ferry boats because of their close dependence an other shipping companies would appear entirely to lack validity. Quoting higher rates for traffic that is spasmodic or uncertain than for regular traffic is a normal business practice and cannot be termed discriminatory.

Disagreement on Agents Contradictory replays regarding forwarding agents were heard during the tour. Anumber of _agents, notably Messrs. Groenendaallaan. a French concern, have a network of branches throughout the Continent Many are giving a valuable service.

It is, however, emphasized by Mr. M. Creten, general secretary of the International Section of the National Federation of Professional Hauliers, that. direct inter-working with a Belgian haulier, preferably on a partnership basis, can enable the services of forwarding agents to be obviated.

The main advantage of being independent of forwarding agents is, according to Mr. Creten, the enhanced freedom of the operator in the collection and organization of backloads, but there would be many other advantages of close inter-working. In his opinion a container service should be operated with the vehicle service.

Regulations covering road transport to France were, said Mr. Creten, complicated and out of date. Directexport traffic with Italy showed most promise of expansion in the near future and this would be followed by an increase in German traffic.


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