1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215 
1 THREATEN HAULAGE...
Page 7
Page 6
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
co SOARING vehicle replaci ment costs and increased ta ation are making it so difficu for operators to buy ne vehicles that the haulal industry is in danger of di integration, says Road Ha lage Association director-ge era] George Newman.
In a letter to Transpo Minister William Rodge and Prices Secretary RI Hattersley, he said that ti costs of some vehicles it risen by as much as 152 pi cent in five years. Ti difficulty in getting sufficiei revenue to allow a vehic replacement programme to 1 carried out was of particut concern.
"The main physical asset the industry is the commerci vehicle and 'it is an asset whil becomes obsolescent in only few years," he told the Min Ts. The costs of replacement ?hides had to be reflected in re pricing structure of the Klustry and it was not being !fleeted at present because of lie prices code.
The code specifically preuded parts of a price increase tich reflected the high cost of replacement depreciation which might be acceptable in an industry with long-life physical assets, but it could not be sensible in the road haulage industry.
"It is not being too pessimistic to say that if change is not made the very structure of the industry could disintegrate," said Mr Newman.
He warned that many important companies were now questioning the viability of staying in business at all and if they decided to close then there would be a great loss to the economic life