Disposal of War Surplus Vehicles
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A Subject of to the Whole
transport
ONE of the problems which are exercising the minds of the Government authorities concerned, and the motor industry as a whole, is that regarding the eventual disposal of vehicles which are surplus to the requirements of the Services. Whatever be the wastage etsulting from the present hostilities, there is every probability that ,the number of vehicles available for disposal after this war will be considerably greater than that freed after 1918.
We, of course, are interested only in vehicles suitable for commercial road transport, and we gave certain • views on this matter many Months ago.
• After the Great' War of 1914-18 most of the .R.A.F. vehicles were absorbed, at a huge cost, by one important manufacturer, whereas most, if not all, of those in the Army were disposed of through a single concern, but they were available for purchase by anyone who liked to bid enough. Many fell into the hands of reputable agents. Who put them into good Condition, but others were merely patched up by their .buxers and marketed at any price that could be obtained or utaized irnmediately by therri.
Those operators who were comparatively for tunate and who obtained vehicles in reasonably good condition were really the founders of our haulage industry as it exists to-day. Most of them were ex-Service men with a small amount of capital hut big ideas!
New Haulier Buyers Not Available The situation has, however, now changed to a very appreciable extent, There is now no such opportunity of .entering the haulage industry. as Was then open. Consequently, the important market will be from the established haulage concerns and the Clicensees, and vehicles with dotilittUl antecedents will stand a poor chance of giakirig good.
Some big manufacturing cOncerns in the induStry believe that the best policy for the Government to follow will be to make at an early date some definite arrangement with the makers for the return to them. of their respective products. Vital Interest From the point of view of of the Roadit would be -better if all the Industry vehicles conceried could be put under the baling press and sold as scrap metal ; but we must remember that the Nation has paid millions' for these vehicles and is justified in expecting a fair return. Therefore, if the value which can be obtained from the vehicles as they stand is likely to be much greater than their worth as scrap material, then the Exchequer could hardly be expected to sanction a big reduction Of its assets.
How Selling Could be Arranged .
To purchase the immense number of vehicles which might be involved in the case of certain makes would; failing a better scheme, necessitate the putting down of huge sums of mopey. it would, therefore, seenrpreferable for the Government to "hold the baby" for the time being, and then to obtain a return according to the sales made ; in other words, it could charge a certain percentage above the cost of renovation, selling and reasonable profit. In this way every vehicle would be placed upon the market with something in the nature of a guarantee, and .buyers would know that the-, machines had been vetted by reputable concerns, whilst the Government would probably, receive a muth better return op its stocks than it would achieve by disposing of the, surplus through one or more big selling organizations, as was done formerly.
We have previously gone fairly thoroughly into the questibn of the suitability of war vehicles for civilian service, and have pointed out that many of those designed 'purely for war purposes might well be used overseas in areas for which they are undoubtedly more fitted than for duty on the comparatively good roads of Britain. Thousands will be in the Near and Far East, and with shipping at a premium—as will unquestionably be' the case for many months, if not years, after the war—it may not pay the -Government to fill the holds with models which could far betterbe employed over seas, •and the greater the number of vehicles disposed of in this manner, the better it Will' be for the home trade. • At the same time, machines which have proved their worth in the areas in, which they are normally occupied may do something to promote our export trade. There would eventually be a , demand for spare parts, and, where satisfaction has been given, probably numerous repeat orders for their manufacturers. In fact, • these vehicles may eventually form the basis 'of many haulage concern g in countries which are not as yet controlled by such restrictions as were imposed in Britain by the Road and Rail Traffic Act of 1933, althceigh, possibly, it would not be long before measures of this nature were introduced with the many other blessings of democracy. British Manufacturers in the commercial-vehicle field will, after this war, probably be in a much more favourable position to restart their plants on production for civilianseurposes than they were at the conclusion of the former great war, but there is bound to be a time lag, and during that period there certainly 'will be innumerable calls for vehicles flora those with fleets depleted by requisitioning or made up with vehicles well past their prime. It is these urgent first needs which may well be met by the, above arrangement.
Rapid Absorption of Surplus Likely In our view, the surplus vehicles will be quickly swallowed, and this yvithout exercising any great detrimental influence upon the new ptoducts which may be developed. It must be borne in mind that the size of the industry now is many times that which existed nearly a quarter of a century ago; consequently, the ratio of war vehicles to those in service, or which are required for service, will he ■ •• much reduced.
If 'we take, as a rough estimate, half our total number of commercial vehicles as requiring almost immediate replacement, this will mean something in the regiOn of 250,000, and it would certainly not be long before the other half would have to be considered as of negligible value. .There is, therefore, little need to fear that output would exceed demand for at least the first few years of, the era of peace.
Services May Retain Much Transport..
Apart from other considerations, it must be accepted as almost certain that immediate and extensive demobilization, such as occurred after 1919, is not likely to take place. No doubt a large number of men will be released, particularly those with important family and business responsibilities, also experts required during the reconstruction period, but armies of occupation and those necessary for the protection of this and allied countries are bound to absorb many men and much equipment, including, of course, vehicles; especially will this be,so if Japan remains in its present mobilized and fully armed condition. Quite recently it has been stated officially that the A.R.P. Services will be retained—at least, in skeleton form ; but, no doubt, even if there be few active personnel, a considerable number of vehicles would have to be held for a long 'period.
In respect of passenger vehicles, whilst the Services' have absorbed a fair number of coaches and single-deck buses, some of these are already being ,returned to civilian service, whilst on this occasion, unlike the procedure adopted during the previous great war, feW, if any, double-deckers have been requisitioned or hired. Therefore, the problem of surplus vehicles in this connection will be practically negligible, and there should be. a large and immediate demand upon the -resources of the bus builders. In fact, it is well known that these have already received a. considerable number of orders for after-the-war delivery.