We are a small haulage company • operating a 1966 Commer bulk lorry
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red with a Dunnspencer blower — it is a -ton-gross vehicle giving a payload of tons 4 cwt. The vehicle travels approxiUely 500 to 600 miles a week (including ,wing). Could you tell me what the turner should be and how it is made up?
We have recently acquired a 1967 Leyul long-wheelbase tipper for which we paid £500 and which, when used as a tipper, can carry 81 tons — as a flat, 9 tons. We intend using this to carry hay and straw: could you give us a guide as to charge for this and general haulage?
AIn order to establish haulage rates it is necessary to know what your operating costs are and to be aware of other factors such as specific customer requirements and the intensity of local competition. These latter two items will have as much effect on the rate you get for the job — as opposed to the ideal rate which you should quote — as will your operating costs.
Before quoting a rate you should calculate your costs so that you know what margin you have to spare in which to negotiate if your customer tries to get you to reduce the figure.
We cannot specify what rates you should charge because we are not in possession of the details mentioned above and we do not know what your individual overheads are. Also as your vehicle carries specialist equipment this too makes it difficult for us to calculate specific costs.
However, the CM Tables of Operating Costs indicate that for a similar type of vehicle to yours, but fitted with a platform body, the following costs apply:
This final figure is your operating cost to which you need to add a margin to cover establishment costs and profit. This then is the amount you need to earn for about 46 weeks in the year with the vehicle. To compensate for the specialist equipment on your vehicle the tax, interest charge, depreciation and fuel consumption figures shown above will need to be marginally increased to provide a more realistic figure.
Finally, as there has been a number of cost increases since these tables were published the overall figure should be increased by some 10 to 15 per cent to bring it in line with present-day values.