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L ast year British farming was ravaged by foot and mouth—and
Page 44
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Cumbria was hit hardest of all. Cockermouth-based Eric Nicholson Transport certainly felt the impact. "Foot and mouth was devastating for us," says managing director Eric Nicholson. "We had four blowers on iattle feed delivery, but this was reduced to one. Our ertiliser deliveries to farms also dropped by 70%. It will ake four years for it to become normal."
The crisis could have finished off an operator who ;hooses to devote his fleet to agriculture. "The fertiliser iork has gained ground but cattle feed deliveries are till down by 50%," Nicholson reports.
Fortunately for the company it takes on work In more an one haulage sector. Nicholson's 28 trucks also iansport garden centre products and concrete, both of thich are taken nationwide.
Coal is another regular consignment. "We have three 5-tonners which are used to pick up the coal from outh Yorkshire and take it to homes across Cumbria," ays Nicholson.
Cumbria is somewhat off the beaten track, but icholson has found his niches and work is plentiful. He ays: "West Cumbria is out on a limb; it's a hilly area until )u get down into Lancashire and that means high fuel )nsumption. We have much more work than we can tndle. But we are not expanding to deal with the extra ork—this is because of a lack of drivers."
It's an odd situation: business is booming at the 'm but Nicholson can't get new people to drive extra Jcks. "We get hounded by our customers, so we use bcontractors," he says. The haulage flexibility fered by subbies is certainly capitalised upon at the tripany—during busy periods subcontractors effecely double the Nicholson haulage capability to any 60 trucks.
His own drivers' average age is 40 and at some point 'II need some fresh pairs of hands to run his HGVs. tolson recognises that there is a national shortage of iss I drivers (although this crisis is showing signs of orovement) yet he resolutely refuses to use agency vers. 'They are too expensive and they lack experiae," he explains, Even newly qualified HGV drivers need more strings to their bow than the Class 1 licence, says Nicholson: "There is so much more to learn after a driver has passed his test. Grants are available for people who want to do a computer course but it would be better spent if the government offered more money for practical things like HGV driving.
"I would also like to see an apprenticeship scheme where people pass their Class 1 test then get one month's extra tuition in the cab, out on the road," he adds. "This could become an industry standard and it would mean that the driver would become much more employable."
Nicholson also points to a general "lack of British hauliers". True, many operators have fallen by the wayside, but at the same time the presence of Continental hauliers in the UK has increased. When one of his trucks isn't available to transport the garden products he relies on foreign trucks to deliver the goods. These HGVs have delivered their loads to Scotland and on their way south they stop by in Cumbria to pick up the horticultural consignments. "if we do have any problems here it is always with the Italian drivers," he complains.
Nicholson himself works a 10-hour working day six days a week. Ifs a long schedule and one which, he says, is due in part to increased bureaucracy. He explains: "I do an extra two hours' work a day dealing with the paperwork. Sometimes lots of regulations can go against you. I used to do a lot of fitting but now all my time is taken up in the office. Over the years I have really enjoyed haulage, but the past few years I have felt despondent about it. There are forms to be filled in for everything, and congestion has turned haulage into such an unsociable job; a driver who used to start ajob at 6am would now have to start the same job at 3.30am—there are too many cars on the road and the government has got to do something about this."
Despite Nicholson's view that the haulier's lot is getting tougher, the firm is set to continue. Simon, his 34year-old son, drives the company's wagons and also repairs them. He also has a Dangerous Goods Safety Adviser certificate. Transport movements are overseen by company director David Macdonald.
Nicholson himself has more on his plate than just haulage matters: "I'm the Mayor of Cockermouth," he says, "I think it's important to promote the town."