ORGANIZING THE ROAD TRANSPORT OF GOODS.
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The Ever-present Problem of the Return Load. How the Central Traffic Organization Can Help the Haulier and Assist the Trader.
APAPER which was read before the Midland local section of the Institute of Transport recently 5s worthy of being quoted from because it was given by a man of wide experience—Mr. W. Donaldson Wright, the transport manager for the Nottingham Chamber of Commerce—and was full of sound advice to the haulier ----and, by the way, not merely to the haulier in the small way of business.
The transport of goods by road, if it is to be of real service to the business community, involves a good deal of detailed organization. Following upon the war, a number of small men with vehicles of their own set up in the haulage business. This phase of post-war development, it may be here remarked, was foreseen by The Commercial Motor, which sought to mitigate the difficulties created by the-incursion into the industry of men with no knowledge of it, and a considerable extension was made to the Tables of Operating Costs, which have for many years been published by this journal, the publication of the new series of tables being accompanied and followed by a number of special articles addressed to the small man for the purpose of educating him upon those items of operating costs which he would be likely. to overlook or to underrate, as, for instance, maintenance, overhauling, interest on capital, overhead charges.
Tht Evil of Rate-cutting.
Mr. Wright points out that these men, who have no useful knowledge of rates, conditions and transport generally, cut their rates to an alarming extent, with the result that the bulk of them are living on " skimmed milk." It is .a simple matter to obtain full lorry loads for transport to any district, but the temptation is very great to pick up loads for the homeward journey at ridiculous rates. The practice is eminently unsound, as once the load has been carried at these rates the consignor naturally expects the same thing to be done on other occasions. The practice of quoting a lower rate for a full load is also unsound, as sooner or later the consignor will aek for a smaller load to be carried at the same rate.
The economic radius of road transport, except for traffi.1 of an exceptional character, is roughly 100 miles. Al]. sane supporters of road transport recognize this and other limitations, and no thinking man would suggest that transport by road will ever oust the railways from their prominent position. It is obvious, however, owing to the changed conditions of trade, that road transport has come to be a very important factor in the trade of the country, and the haulier must be prepared to comply promptly with the demands of traders for haulage facilities. Be must not say that he has no vehicle available, or that the load offered is not sufficient to warrant undertaking the journey; nor must the excuse of the absence of a homeward load be offerel as the reason for not undertaking a journey.
The task of completing the round journey in order that the outward journey may be effectively dealt with is a problem of the transport man, and the best way in which to meet the difficulty is to establish in all industrial centres central organizations in a position to deal with the requirements of the business man. These organizations can control the traffic and, besides doing the public a Service, can, materially assist'the man in the haulage business. A number of such organizations sprang up after the war, but with the exception of a few, which practically consisted of departments of the Chambers of Commerce, they felled to meet the ,situation, probably because they were not run by men who understood the haulage business, with the result that they concentrated on the
e30 easy part of the business, which was to obtain traffic which moves in large quantities, leaving the problem of the return load untouched.
The true function of a central organization should be to study closely the needs of the district in which it works; to provide for the collection and delivery of large and small quantities of traffic ; to consider carefully the question of classification and rates, and generally to offer such services that will tempt the trader to make regular use of the facilities that may be afforded. The importance of the question of rates cannot be gainsaid, as the rates offered should remunerate the haulage man, so making for reliable services, and it is a mistake to base rates upon the assumption that full loads are to be carried every time.
Where Road Transport is Superior.
One of the advantages of road transport iS that very little packing is needed, and this finds its reflection in good rates, especially when it is considered that the returned empty is almost cut out, the covered van acting as a container, but returned empties eammt be entirely ignored, as in some trades it is impossible to eliminate the outer case, and the service must arrange that these empties shall be promptly returned home, otherwise the outward traffic must suffer. Returned empties are the bugbear of all transport services, and the road haulage man must not expect other transport organizations to carry his empties for him. So allowance must be made in the outwards rate for the fact that empties are to be returned at a nominal charge.
It is important that the central organization should be controlled by a transport expert who will be able to undertake the shipment of goods for export, as all wharfage and dock charges must be included in the through rate. Usually this is a task which is beyond the capacity of the average haulage contractor, but working through a central traffic organization—of which there are some notably good ones in this country, some of them being privately conducted and some under the leadership of official bodies, such as Chambers of Commerce—the haulage man has his business provided for him and he is responsible only for the carrying out of instructions and the upkeep of his vehicles. The central organization should, of course, deal with traffic in both directions and always arrange for loads homewards as well as outwards.
There is much to be done with the small consignment, and it is easier to handle than at first sight would appear, possibly because in most large centres there exist cartage firms or agents who are prepared, at reasonable charges, to deal with small consignments.
As trade develops the number of these organizations will extend. It is important, however, that the service which 'deals with small consignments shall be run to a strict time-table, otherwise they lose their value. There is ample proof that goods can be delivered through a central organization co-operating with one or more firms of carriers quicker than by any other means of transport, except, perhaps, the air. A good deal of heavy clerical work, however, is entailed, and this can be undertaken by the central organizations, which will provide for efficient waybilling and can undertake all the incidentals entailed by such a service.
Co-operation between road and rail is, in Mr. Donaldson Wright's opinion, a question which demands earnest consideration, as there is no \doubt whatever that there should be some such link between the mainline services and the rural districts or towns that are off the main route, and if such co-operation could be established it would be preferable to the railway companies establishing their own road transport.