Liverpool. Hauliers Critical of Government Hiring Rates
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REACTIONS of Liverpool haulage concerns to the Ministry's haulage . scheme, nbw that details of hiring rates are known, are variable, but are definitely unfavourable in the ,case of
owners of the heavy vehicles. One operator makes the comment that with
regard to Class 2 vehicles needed ,t6 augment the chartered fleets, the Ministry is trying to make a "heads I win,0 tails you lose bargain."
It is pointed out that the Ministry's total figure for machines over 10 tons is about only two-third s of their present-day earnings on the lowest possible economic basis.
One operator, in an interview, stated that the 10-tonner can normally earn 32s. 6d. per ton, per 200-mile journey, five days per week, making a total of £81, or more if extra load be carried.
If the same machine be hired ty the Ministry the owner would receive for a mileage of 1,000, £60 19s. 2d., plus overtime of, say, £5.
" in the case of ,15-tonners (eightwheelers and lorries •and trailers) the Ministry puts the hiring fee at £68 15s. 4d. for 1,000 miles, plus overtime. Even if you allow £10 for over time, which is an extravagant sum, the total is under 280. That same vehicle on private work,can earn, at 32s. 6d. per ton on five 200-mile journeys per week, at least £121.
"The differences are not so marked in
the vehicles of the lower-weight cate
gories. For 6-tonners, the Ministry figure is £43 16s. 8d, (1,000 miles), whilst private hire at 32s, 6d. per ton for the .same mileage would bring in £48 15s. For 8-tanners the respective figures are £53-5s. 6d. and £65.
The operator will be placed at a disadvantage, because he will not necessarily have control over his own machines. Should a 15-tanner be wanted for only 400 miles all that the operator would get would be his weekly payment of £32, plus a mileage allowance of 90. per mile, making a total of £45. That is a big drop for a man handling an £80 per week machine."
If the machine be used for other work in the week, the earnings go to the Ministry, less a deduction of 5 per cent. If the vehicle be off the road for any period, the owner does not draw anything at all.
Inquiries were made by our correspondent in the area as to the likely effects of the scheme on port trafficpooling arrangements. It is difficult to form a conclusion at this early stage. If the Ministry takes over all the Government traffic at the ports, then it would seem that the existing transport control pools will be in approximately the same position as now and will continue to function on more or less normal lines—that is in conveying the emergency traffic allocated to them.