Low rates spell Duxbury failure
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by Miles Brignall • A Lancashire haulage firm has became the latest in a string of operators to stop trading because they can't make enough money.
Ashton-under-Lynebased CH Duxbury (Haulage) has been put into voluntary liquidation and shed four drivers jobs. A spokesman for the firm says it looked hard at the rates on offer and decided it was no longer covering its costs.
The firm started life moving engineered products for a sister firm before branching out under its own licence four years ago.
"There must be a lot of people working for nothing out there—either that, or they're skimping on maintenance or not complying with hours limits," says the spokesman. He adds there is no shortage of work, but not at decent rates.
"The final nail in the coffin came earlier this year when one of our drivers was stopped by police and found to be hauling a container weighing 22 tonnes. The docket showed its weight to be 14 tonnes. The driver did not have access to a weighbridge and was not driving his usual wagon and hadn't realised."
The company now faces a large fine when the case comes to court.
L Other hauliers to stop trading in recent weeks because of low rates include Blackpool Van Transport (CM 29 Aug-4 Sep), CTS (Midlands) in July (CM 4-10 July) and G&R Cadwallder ((M 6-12 June),