Road hi needs
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ROAD HAULAGE in the UK is in bad shape. It has been getting steadily worse since 1970. And the deterioration began with the liberalisation of licensing through the 1968 Transport Act.
Only stricter application of that Act and the reintroduction of some form of qualitative licensing and tariffication will be able to effect a cure, according to Peter Thompson, chief executive of the National Freight Corporation.
Mr Thompson was guest speaker at the 1977 Henry Spurrier Memorial Lecture at the Chartered Institute of Transport in London on Monday.
He took the meeting through a "sick report" on the industry which was both accurate and frightening. He proved, most c ingly, that the indust not obtain a proper rt capital employed, it A employees longer hot the industrial average a smaller hourly rate.
Of 150 firms whose a have been examir Dataquest, more than making less than 10 on the historical valu, net assets employed.
Even those who we ing more than 25 p could not, in his view, sidered healthy with i running at its present I Road haulage has t. highest rate of bankrt any industrial group. 400 companies filed ba cies and thousands oi went out of business.
Mr Thompson, quotations from peor outside the industry d how out of touch lity are our political both Transport Miniam Rodgers and the ative Party paper, ight Track" had road haulage as "a story" and "highly ye and efficient," the If the industry were otally different tale. 966 there has been a !crease in percentage tonnes transported !et sizes at the lower ? weight table.
is any mark of it is because fewer of larger carrying are in use. The rea, and this worries chief executive, is in vehicle group of it was 86.7 per cent, , 88 per cent, the 6-20 s declined from 10.4 39.5 per cent, and the Li) has dropped from it to 2.5 per cent.
quality
iompson suggested s indicated further tation of an already :ed industry.
zality of vehicles has I in the last five or six ut so also has the ost, in some cases by !nt more than the iny trend.
must conjecture" he ether the producers of aides have been as in containing their 311 costs as they have ,iduous in improving it and performance of icles."
.972 there has been an in new vehicle costs per cent and in spare !..! average increase has per cent.
;-e rate increases on 3.mples used by Mr m varied from 43 per 148 per cent between 1977. The Retail Price tcreased by 198 per le same period.