Profitable Rates for Brewers' Haulage
Page 50
Page 51
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
HAULAGE for brewers falls into three classes. There are the long-distance collection of loads °if grain and malt, the delivery of beer, generally in barrels, but also in bottles, over medium to long distances, and, finally, the local distribution of this com
modity. • .
The work is also susceptible to classification in another fashion ; the greater proportion is fairly regular. Some of it, however, is emergency cartage and a fair proportion is seasonal. If the regular work be not carried out by the brewer himself, it is usually the subject of a haulage contract over a period.
As the distribution of beer, whether in barrels or bottles, and whatever the distance, usually involves the collection and return of empties, it follows that, whilst light loads are usual in one direction, empty running is rare. The haulier who accepts work for a brewer, therefore, finds full occupation for his vehicle.
This characteristic at once sets apart the class of haulage first enumerated above. The cartage of grain to the brewer is a one-way job, with only occasional prospects of a return load for the same customer. A haulier engaging in it, therefore, must make his own provision for return loads, where that is at all practicable. The traffic comes mainly from the ports, such as Hull, Liverpool, Cardiff, Bristol, Southampton and Ipswich, as well as London_ A certain proportion of it comprises short-distance haulage from the docks and wharves on the nearest canal, for much of this grain is brought inland by waterways.
Rates for this class of traffic are not in themselves c28 particularly attractive. They are generally insufficient to justify concentration on it, without any support in other directions. It is likely to be profitable only in the case of a haulier who has already connections or prospect of connections along the route concerned and is fairly certain of a minimum number of regular loads in the contrary direction. Maximum loads for collection are usually upwards of 8 tons and the traffic is fairly regular.
Assuming that an' 8-tonncr is used and that the proprietor of the vehicle can find work to keep it fully loaded for two-thirds of its running time, then, on a weekly mileage of 800—which must be run at a minimum of 11d, per mile, if a reasonable profit is to accrue— Is. ;5c1. must be obtained per loaded mile. That is the basic figure on which minimum charges should be calculated.
Take, for example, the transport of grain from Hull to Burton. The distance is 92 miles and the single journey must bring in a revenue of £.6 10s., or approximately 16s. 3d. per ton. On the London-Birmingham route, under the same conditions, Li per ton is a minimum profitable charge. These rates are rarely obtained to-day, but they are those at which hauliers should aim in any revision of charge which may now be under consideration.
With a 12-tonner, of course, conditions are more favourable. If work can be had in both directions, sufficient to keep the vehicle loaded for two-thirds of its time,, is. 10d. per mile should be taken as the basis for the calculation of any rate. A journey from Hull to Burton ought to bring in a revenue of 28 Os., which is practically 15s. per ton. From London to Birmingham, 210 per journey should be earned, which is equivalent to 16s. 8d. per ton. Those rates should, of course, be offered only for a minimum load of 12 tons. They will be profitable only if the haulier engaged on the work be covering 800 miles per week, out of which the vehicle is fully loaded for 570 miles.
The foregoing figures refer to petrol-engined vehicles. IC an oil-engined lorry be used, there will be a somewhat more favourable margin' of profit to the operator. 1 do not think, however, that he would be well advised materially to modify these charges.
have not dealt in detail with the rates which would have to be charged to make a corresponding profit with the same types of vehicle operated by two shifts of drivers. The prospect of increased profit per load at the above rates is practically negligible: Where the operatclr gains by working his vehicle on :double shifts is that he increases his total weekly profits. It is quite wrong to attempt to cut rates merely because the 'bigger turnover brings an enhanced gross profit.
When it comes to the question of a contract, the haulier, in quoting, should remember that, whilst brewers, as a general rule, pay well for the services rendered to them, they do like to obtain value. So far as road transport is concerned, that means, first, they expect first-class service and, secondly, that the vehicles should do the brewer credit, not merely at the beginning of the contract, when, perhaps, the machines are new, but at the end.
A favourite size of vehicle for a brewery contract is one of 6-7-ton capacity. A haulier who is asked to tender on a yearly basis for the hire of a vehicle of this type should make his calculations as follow :— First, as to the initial cost, 21,050 is a fair price for a well-found 6-7-tonner, with the substantial body that is necessary for brewers' work, well painted and lettered and varnished to specification. The tyres will be 40-in. by 8-in. high-pressure equipment, worth about 270 per complete set, reducing the net value of the vehicle, without tyres, to 2980. Interest on first cost averaged over the life of the vehicle will be at about 3 per cent per annum on the initial outlay, say, £30 per year, which figure also applies to insurance and garage rent. The wages of the driver, with provision for usual insurances, will be 2186 per annum.
The vehicle should be renewed after six years' service —lorries on brewery work are notoriously long-lived-at the end of which time it will, no doubt, fetch about £180. Consequently, the depreciation is averaged at £134 per annum. The total of these items is 4410.
The haulier should allow for an average of two weeks in each year when the vehicle is out of commission and a substitute has to be found, which will cost about £25.
In addition, there is the wage of a driver (say, £5) while the regular man is on holiday. The total is now 2440 per annum. Add 250 for establishment costs and the aggregate is 2.490 per annum
The annual mileage is low, 15,000 being probably the maximum. Most of the work will involve a fair number of stops per trip and the petrol consumption will be at least a gallon per six miles. Oil will cost 0.1d. per mile ; tyres, 0.85d.; maintenance, 1.20d. a total of 4.65d per mile for those four items. That is equivalent to 2200 12s. 6d per annum and the grand total of expenditure, so far, is 2780 12s. 6d. The contract price must be from 2900 per annum.
Other sizes of vehicle for other branches of brewery work can be hired at proportionate rates. I shall be pleased, at any time, to calculate the rate for any particular type of vehicle and under any set of conditions. There is, too, a fairly regular form of contract Jwhich has been set out in these pages, from time to time, and concerning which, too, I shall be pleased to advise readers on request. S.T.R.