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Better Times for
Page 62
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THE *HAULAGE INDUSTRY
A Vast Business with Bright Prospects and Only One Flaw. Types of Vehicle Particularly Suited to Various Classes of Work By H. SCOTT HALL, M.I.A.E.
S " I monumentum requiris, circumspice," which, being interpreted, is 'If you would seek a
monument, look around." And so, if you would know how stands the motor-haulage industry in this country, look around. Evidence of its goodwill, its virility and general prosperity was never so rife.
For sane time it lay under a cloud, chiefly because of the prevalence of war surplus lorries, which, none too suitable for the purpose of general haulage, in the first place, rapidly deteriorated both in appearance and efficiency until they began to defile the reputation of the industry itself. Now the flow of those vehicles which at one time seemed never-ending has subsided.
Only a minority of them still remains, and is for the most part confined to use in the haulage of sand and ballast, for road-making and building purposes, and in agricultural haulage, where the defects of paint and structure are not so noticeable or so detrimental.
Nowadays haulage contractors in ffeneral, whether old-established or new to the business, are alive to the advantages of smart vehicles which are as efficient mechanically as they are handsome in appearance. , Proof of this is, as I stated in the opening paragraph, to be seen by looking around, by noticing the class of vehicle engaged on haulage work. In the same way the number of these vehicles and the volume of business they obviously have to do are indisputable proofs that the haulage industry is at last on a sound footing with abundant prospects of improvement.
Road Deliveries Essential.
The reasons are not far to seek. It is important and heartening, too, to realize that they are permanent and more likely to be augmented than diminished. The whole business of the country has adapted itself to the use of,motor haulage. Manufacturers, factors, wholesalers, \retailers and the customers and clients of all of these have come to regard delivery by road as essential to their purposes. Moreover, the appetite for road haulage grows as it is fed. The more of these facilities there are the more occasion for their employment is discovered.
Nor is it the case that the principal parties concerned, the aforementioned manufacturers, factors, wholesalers and retailers, are partial to the use of their pwn machines. Many do operate their own, of course, and many will continue to do so. The main tendency is, however, in the contrary direction; that is to say, to prefer the services of haulage contractors. There are many reasons for this, but the underlying and principal one is to be found in the characteristic of the time—the trend towards specialization.
Most of these manufacturers, etc., prefer to mind their own businesses, and to know them well and to confine their attentions strictly to the prosecution of them. Motor haulage is an industry in itself, requiring specialized knowledge and experience. Those whose business is not haulage realize that.
They are accustomed to look to specialists for other branches of their work. For instance, they look to builders to erect and maintain their premises, and they are becoming correspondingly prone to look to haulage contractors. to effect their transport.
Space forbids an extensive inquiry into the altered conditions which have made road haulage so indispenc40 sable, hilt the outstanding feature can, at least, have reference. It is the growing habit to buy from hand to mouth, relying upon the speedy delivery capacity of the motor to fill frequently recurring needs as they arise. No class of consumer is immune from this habit.
Manufacturers, even if they order their raw materials in large quantities in order, for example, to take advantage of a favourable price condition, nevertheless specify delivery as and when required—at the least they save storage space—and they arrange for those deliveries through motor-haulage contractors.
Factors are becoming less and less factors in the old sense of the word, in that instead of acting as reservoirs for goods in their flow from manufacturer to retailer, they are acting more as selling agents, relying upon road cartage for carrying out their obligations in respect of prompt delivery.
Retailers themselves also follow the same procedure, purchasing in the smallest possible quantities at a time, and the last line of all, the householder who buys from the retailer, finds this method of doing business equally attractive.
It is areund this tendency that the vast and complex motor-haulage industry of to-day has been built. Flow extensive that industry is may in part be realized by reference to the "Roadway Goods Transport Guide." That publication comprises nearly 1,000 pages, each of which contains on the average the names of 20 hauliers, most of whom run regular daily services.
Long-distance Haulage Most Profitable?
It cannot be said that any one type of vehicle predominates. There appears to be scope for the employment of all sizes and descriptions. Probably the most profitable branch of the industry is the long-distance carriage of goods, which, in the bulk offering, is sufficient to justify the use of the largest type of vehicle. For this work 10-12-ton rigid six-wheelers with and without trailers and having steam, petrol or oil engines are the most popular and most suitable machines.
For certain classes of haulage, where speed is essential, as, for example, the cartage of garden produce or the transport of furniture from manufacturers to retail shops, light high-powered vans and lorries coming within the 2k-ton limit of unladen weight and permitted to travel at 30 m.p.h. are proving very, popular.
The 4-5-tonner has for long been preferred for the cartage of road and building materials. Probably the principal reason is the prevalence of war-discarded machines, which, as has already been stated, are still in use for this work. There are, however, already signs that larger vehicles are beginning to be preferred.
The foregoing are particular uses. There are others, of course, each of which calls for a special type of vehicle; but, in addition, there are purposes galore which find employment for every type and size of vehicle.
The only disability from which the industry suffers is an internal one—namely, the seeming inability to stabilize rates. When something has been done to eliminate this disability, and there are prospects of that coming to pass, the motor-haulage industry will be one of the most profitable, just as it is already one of the most important in the country.