Attack on Meat Transport at Leeds for New Cars A LL-ROUND
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criticism of the current meat transport arrangements of British Railways, British Road Services and independent hauliers, was a feature of a resumed hearing at Leeds last week.
Mithpax Haulage Ltd., of Bingley. Yorks, was applying to transfer 21. vehicles from C licence to A, and to add three vehicles—all of them to be operated for companies in a big Yorkshire meat trade group, engaged on Government and local government contracts throughout the country.
Mr. J, R. C. Samuel-Gibbon, for Mithpax, said the management of such a sizeable fleet by Mr. W. H. Whatmuff, the managing director concerned, had become such a problem that it was interfering with his activities on the butchery. side. So it was felt best to set up a separate transport concern.
Moreover, it was known that there were real gaps in the transport of meat in the West Riding area, which the current application would serve, in part, to fill. If that application was granted, C licences for 25 vehicles would be surrendered, as against the application for 24.
Mr. Whatmuff told the Yorkshire deputy Licensing Authority, Mr. J. Randolph, that he wanted to divest himself of transport problems within the group. He held Army meat contracts in many districts.
The subsidiary, Northern Wholesale Meats, with three vehicles on C licence, traded in prepacked meats, deep frozen, sent to Newcastle. Carlisle, the Midlands, Nottingham, Macclesfield, Derby and North Wales.
There had been duplication, which the application was designed to eliminate, and Mr. Whatmuff said he wanted to be able to tender for more contracts.
He agreed that at one time he had employed British Road Services meat haulage vehicles, but he had not gone to the Leeds depot after he had been granted a rate of 80s. per ton. He had got a better rate elsewhere. Moreover, he wanted better reliability than B.R.S. could offer.
In reply to Mr. J. W. Bosomworth, for B.R.S., he denied he was trying tofill in the gap" with general haulage of meat on slack days. Mr. Whatmuff told Mr. H. 0, Hall, representing the independent road objectors, that he did, however, hope to obtain return loads.
He went on to allege that Liverpool meat hauliers charged more for the 6570-mile run into the West Riding than did the London operators running 200 miles to Bradford and Leeds.
There was criticism of meat and canned goods transport arrangements and charges from London to the north of England, by a supporting witness, Mr. F. G.
W:Idon, sales manager of Canned Foods Ltd., London. Mr. Wildon alleged that his company had to pay full load rates for a part load in January this year. It had cost £10 to send three-quarters of a ton of meat to Manchester by road; £2 2s. 7d. to send 200 lb. to Huddersfield.
On the canning side, road carriers were "completely unsatisfactory ". Consignments to Manchester had taken up to 13 days to reach their destination from London. Halifax and Hackney (London) hauliers had been concerned in these transactions. When he put in one transport order on December 7, and the haulier had not bothered to collect it by December 11, he called in another transport contractor.
If the Mithpax switch was granted, its transport could carry up to 15 tons of fresh frozen meat a week from London to Yorkshire, plus canned goods, and this would increase on satisfactory service.
Mr. Randolph commented at this stage that he would have expected London to produce a haulier specializing in the carriage of meat by insulated van, to which Mr. Wildon replied that his company had used Caledonian Road Services to Manchester, but it thought the rate of 90s. a ton was high.
Another supporting witness. Mr. I. Lyon, branch superintendent of Armours, Liverpool, said that 90 per cent of Armours meat traffic went by road, and only 10 per cent by British Railways. He did not use B.R.S, a great deal, as he did not find the same satisfaction as with other carriers.
In reply to Mr. A. J. F. Wrottesley, for British Railways, Mr. Lyon agreed that the main reason for the small use of British Railways' facilities was the ques tion of rates. It only used rail when it could not get road vehicles.
The deputy Licensing Authority adjourned the hearing to a date to be fixed.
('AR production at the new Rootes
Group plant at Linwood, Paisley, will start at the end of February, and build up to 150,000 car units in a full production year by the end of 1964. Some of the first arrangements for transport of this entirely new production were made in Glasgow on Tuesday when B.R.S. (Glasgow depot) was granted an A licence for nine artics, all to be acquired, on "products of the Rootes Group company, mainly built-up cars in Great Britain ".
Mr. L. D. Garden, traffic officer of B.R.S. Scottish area, said they had been invited to handle a part of the Linwood traffic. The B.R.S. Glasgow fleet of 257 rigids and 141 trailers was fully employed, was not suitable or authorized for this traffic, B.R.S. had suitable vehicles in England and considerable experience of car transportation, but in Scotland this was new traffic and the part to be handled by B.R.S. was only a fraction of the ultimate total,
Mr. A. E. Mason, group transport manager, Rootes Group, said that they expected production of 150,000 car units from Linwood, of which 90,000 would go to the home trade and 60,000 export. 1 hat export volume would go through Glasgow, Grangemouth and Leith but there would also be exports through English ports. He estimated Scottish export volume at 40,000 built-up units. Home sales vehicles would go into compounds at Linwood and elsewhere. He knew of no licences in Scotland with capacity to handle this traffic. It was essential that they should have reliable service in Scotland, even more so than in the Midlands.
The several objectors withdrew and offered no evidence against the grant, which Mr. W. Quin, the Scottish Licensing Authority, approved, saying: "The overriding consideration is to see that nothing prevents these cars from being produced and transported ".