Expansion Trends in Haulage
Page 62
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"Beware of Newcomers"
APPLICATIONS to enter the industry by newcomers," as they are known in the licensing courts, are on the increase. Analysing this week's "As and Ds," one cannot fail to notice that, in the main, such applications are confined to new 13 licences and fall into two classes of applicant-those in business in a big way, with special and expensive types of vehicles on which they need to carry their own materials and equipment-vehicles which could be profitably employed carrying for hire or reward. The second category is the small tradesman who wants to carry other people's goods-perhaps on a part-time basis-in a small way.
Falling into the first class are people engaged on large building sites or new road projects, and this week there are several applications to operate low-loader trailers and tippers, the granting of which could cause severe embarrassment to specialists in these fields.
In the Northern area, Service Engines (Newcastle), Ltd., who describe themselves as "plant maintenance and stockists" in their application form, want to utilize a fairly heavy artic. low-loader to carry not only their own plant, but other people's within 25 miles of Newcastle. Another such application is one in the Western area by Manthorp, Ltd.-" contractors and plant hire" as they arc described-who want to carry other people's plant. Whilst the vehicle is smaller, the area asked for is more ambitious-Devon, Somerset and Cornwall.
A quite substantial application, in the Yorkshire area, by R. C. Burgoyne and Partners, Ltd., of Gomersal, is for three vehicles, one of which is described as a flat, adapted for low-loading. These people-building and plant hire contractors-want to carry earth and demolition materials on two of the vehicles, and builders' plant on the other, with conditions (on all of them) restricting them to use within a 25-mile radius of their base-" but occasionally anywhere in Yorkshire."
The Yorkshire publication also contains some fine examples of newcomers wishing to become hauliers. A Bradford scrap dealer is shown as asking for a 3-ton vehicle to carry general goods within 30 miles, whilst a grocer from Haxby, near York, wants to haul "General goods (rubble, etc.)" within a radius of 25 miles!
The merits and demerits of such applications must be investigated by hauliers who may possibly be affected.