Road goods boom is coming
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THE recent growth of British Railways' traffic will soon slacken off, and the road operator will once again enjoy a period of booming demand. This cheering message for hauliers was delivered at a business luncheon at the conference on Tuesday by Prof. K. J. W. Alexander, who is head of the economics department at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow. Prof. Alexander forecast that road transport demand would enjoy an annual increase of between 3 per cent and 4.5 per cent in the Seventies. But he warned that transport employed too great a proportion of resources, measured against its output. Transport costs must be reduced—perhaps by achieving more with less physical input.
Technological advances in the industry would, he said, contribute markedly to road transport's coining prosperity, but the industry must shake off its insular attitudes. "You are not outgoing enough," he claimed, "you do not appear to want to learn from other industries." If road haulage persisted in turning its back on other industries, it must not be surprised if they turned their backs on road transport A sound national economy was dependent on a sound transport system, said the professor, who felt that economists had contributed far too little to the transport world. And he was troubled that such an important element as transport was no longer directly represented in the Cabinet. The Government should be looking at the fardistant transport scene, and leaving the transport man to get on with the day-to-day operation.