AT THE HEART OF THE ROAD TRANSPORT INDUSTRY.

Call our Sales Team on 0208 912 2120

Current Rat( Municipa Df Hire for Haulage

3rd April 1942, Page 26
3rd April 1942
Page 26
Page 27
Page 28
Page 26, 3rd April 1942 — Current Rat( Municipa Df Hire for Haulage
Close
Noticed an error?
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.

Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

Figures Show that Open third, as Compared v Should Increase by ivfi

c:Ists are Up by One'e-war Days. Rates tan That Proportion

Solving the Prot Df the Carrier

IN the spring a haulier's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of-the renewal of his contracts with the local authority. He speculates as to the new low level to which the rates will have fallen, and upon how much lower than the irreducible minimum be will be expected to accept.

It is, I suppose, 22 years or more since municipal authorities began to make use of the services of hauliers. It is 20 years since those same authorities came to realize that, by setting' one operator against another, they could considerably reduce the amount of their annual expenditure on the hire of vehicles.

From that date the dowlifill of haulage rates in this department of operations was rapid and ultimately, con siderable. It is no exaggeration whatever to state that, some two or three years before the war, the rates were scandalous: Only owner-drivers, content with a low standard of living, operators who were able' to find drivers who would work long hours at low rates of wages (evading the law as to hours and using their vehicles for work other than that for which they had contracted to do), and others rapidly and unwittingly approaching bankruptcy, could undertake the work at the prices paid for it. One municipal authority, notorious for the very low rates paid for haulage, used to advertise especially for owner-drivers to do its work., knowing full well, in the majority of cases, that this class of operator is more prone to accept uneconomic rates without complaint. About 1935 or 1036, however-I write from memorythe attitude of hauliers began to stiffen. That was, to a large extent, the outcome of a persistent year-by-year educational campaign carried out by this journal, which sought, by making hauliers cost-conscious, to teach them what they should earn. Energetic action then began by area secretaries of A.R.O. and divisional secretaries of the C.M.U.A. Deputations waited upon local authorities and stated the hauliers' case, showing cause why rates should be increased. In that work I, acting on behalf of " The Commercial Motor," was able to assist. As a result the ebb-tide of municipal haulage rates had almost ceased to How by the time war broke out. A few more years of peace and that tide had turned and the flood commenced.

More recently there has been the formation, in Leeds, of an association of all hauliers interested in municipal haulage. They have handed themselves together with the object of being better able to resist the piecemeal onslaughts of the Leeds authorities on their legitimate scales of rates. This move owes inneh to the initiative of Mr. Harry Clark, manager and secretary of the Federation of Yorkshire Road Transport Employers.

One factor alone would have greatly strengthened the hands of those who were manceuvring for better remuneration-the introduction of statutory wages scales. That, alas, came into existence only in January, 1940, four months after the start of the war. However, the work of municipal authorities must still go on, and it follows, therefore, that their contracts for haulage still fall for renewal annually. Morecver, it has to be recorded that the situation with regard to rates is little better than it used to be. Increases there have been, but they take the form of percentage increases on pre-war scales • of payment. The percentage increase, too, lags behind that which has taken place in respect of operating costs, so that, where rates were insufficient before the war, they are more so now. Actually, were these authorities to pay rates grea'7r than pre-war rates by a percentage equal to those of increases in operating costs, the rates would still be lower than they should be.

That, indeed, is the first important point I should like to stress in this article. It is, in the majority of cases, not enough to have rates based on pre-war rates plus a percentage. Rates should be entirely revised and calculated on an absolute basis, on figures of cost of operation as they stand to-day, ignoring any comparison with pre-war rates. The figures which I give with this article may be used to that end.

As is usual, at this time of the year, I am receiving a number of inquiries from hauliers concerning the rates they should charge for these contracts during the forthcoming municipal year. One of them has suggested that, ia view of the considerable increases in operating costs which have taken place since 1939, the time is ripe for a public review of municipal rates. He quotes some rates which are being suggested in his locality, and asks my opinion of them.

There are two principal kinds of haulage which occur in connection with municipal contracts. In one, the vehicle is hired on a time basis, and in the other, on a lead-mile ton basis. The problems which arise, therefore, differ according to the method of hire. Both of these classes figure in the particular inquiry which I have in mind. Figures for projected rates of hire are quoted for -both. It is convenient to deal first with that class of hire on a time basis.

Pre-war Hiring Rates Insufficient In his letter, my correspondent quotes certain rates which ruled in pre-war days for the hire of vehicles per ninehour day. He tells me that the authority concerned is offering to hire vehicles at those pre-war rates plus 20 per cent. He is of opinion, first, that the pre-war rates were in any event insufficient, at the time that they were being paid ard, secondly, that 20 rer cent. does not represent the proportionate increase in operating costs which has taken place since the war began. It falls short of the true amount, he opines, by a considerable percentage.

Remarking that the problem is of country-wide interest, he proceeds then to make the suggestion already reported— that I should deal with the subject, on broad lines, in these articles.

I have &me so. In the beginning, I entirely ignored the figures embodied in his letter, and prepared Tables I and II reproduced herewith. The arrangement of the figures in these Tables is the same as that to which readers of these articles are well accustomed. Certain matters, however, need explanation. I will take them in order, reading from the top and commencing with Table I. Figures relating to a Grade III area were taken as a basis because this inquirer wrote from such an area. There is further justification for such a course because most county councils are concerned with work in areas coming within that grade.

Pre-war wages of drivers engaged on this class of work vary within wide limits ; they were, in many cases, very low. I know that in several areas as little as 30s. per week was being paid to drivers of 2-ton lorries. The figures

quoted, whilst they appear low as judged by present-day standards, are, in fact, high in relation to the wages actually paid in a good many districts. The amounts set down include, as usual, provision for the three employees' insurances—National Health, National Unemployment and premiums involved in the Workmen's Compensation Acts.

Nothing is allowed, however, for annual holidays with pay ; these drivers nearly always had their holidays, but they did not get their pay. On this point, by the way, I should, perhaps, make it clear to my correspondent that I am writing generally.

Vehicle insurances and overheads are set down in both Tables to conform with the usual expenditure in Grade III areas.

Running Costs Above Normal Figures

Running costs of vehicles engaged on this class of work are higher than normal, for the weekly mileage they may be expected to cover, which is approximately 240. That is an average of 5 m.p.h., or 45 miles per nine-hour day, the usually accepted figure. The travelling is usually in short spurts, with long spells of waiting, and there are many occasions when the engine is unavoidably kept running while the vehicle is stationary. Petrol and oil consumption are thus increased. The cost of maintenance is also high.

A particularly important point arises in respect of the figure of 15 per cent, allowance, on total cost, as net profit. In making that modest allowance I have assumed that the vehicle is regularly employed. That, as I am well aware, is not always the case.

Indeed, the complaint is made, in several of this year's letters on the subject, that many authorities are cavalier in their treatment of hauliers, leaving them very much " up in the air " with regard to the extent to which their vehicles are required. Their services are demanded at short notice, and employment is terminated just as curtly. Whenever these conditions prevail an addition of not less than 10 per cent, to the final rates quoted in -these Tables is amply justified.

I have included rates per hour, per S-hour day, per Sh-hour day and per 9-hour day, because the conditions of hire vary from district to district. Saturday morning is usually assumed to be of 4/1 hours duration ; for that the haulier should charge half the amount quoted in these Tables for a 9-hour day, more rather than less.

'Tables III to VI inclusive give corresponding figures for other areas. At this stage I propose to leave the reader, returning in a subsequent article to compare the rates thus reached with those quoted in the inquiry. I shall also deal with the other aspect of municipal haulage—when the

vehicles are hired on a lead-mile-ton basis. S.T.R.

Tags

People: Harry Clark
Locations: Leeds

comments powered by Disqus