Tonnage Rates for Municipal Haulage
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THE data on municipal hire contained in the two articles which appeared in "The Commercial Motor ", on March 21 and 28 were intended to help operators tendering for the hire of their vehicles on day rates. However, the figures given there cannot conveniently be used for the calculation of tonnage rates for the haulage of road stone, sand and ballast, tarmacadam, rubble, and materials of that kind. To be able to build up a schedule of rates for that
class of work we must know, first, the time taken per journey, and, second, the mileage run
First, one must compile a series of time and mileage charges for the various sizes and types of vehicle employed on the work. (Table I.) There is no need in this article to go into detail as to how tt., arrive at the items in the lines entitled "Fixed Costs per Hour" and "Running Costs per Mile," as this was done previously. Those are costs for time and mileage for vehicles engaged on daily hire.
It is necessary, however, to appreciate that there are important differences between the figures which we may use for assessment of rates for daily Lire and those which we should use for calculating tonnage rates. In the latter case, provision must be made for the idle time that is inevitable in such work, by adding 10 per cent, to the fixed charges. This is done in Table I, in which the seconil line reads: "Add 10 per cent." In the third line are the total fixed costs per hour to be used as a basis for these calculations.
The fixed cost per hour for a 5-tonner, as calculated in the March 28 article, is 6s, 6d. Adding 10 per cent. (70.), the fixed cost per hour for tonnage rates becomes 7s. lid. Next, profit at the rate of 20 per cent, is added, and the fixed charge per hour, what I customarily call the time rate, is 8s. 7d. ihe running cost per mile for a 5-tonner, as' previously assessed, is 4.55d. I add 20 per cent. profit (0.91d.) and get a total of 5.46d., say 51d. For calculating tonnage rates for a 5-tonner. I must, therefore, take 8s. 7d. per hour, plus 5fd. per mile.
It now remains to translate these figures into rates per ton for the haulage of the materials mentioned at the beginning of this article.
The first thing to do is to agree upon loading and unloading time. In this article I am dealing with fixed-body lorries; and I must therefore assume that, whilst the vehicle is probably loaded by chute, it will be unloaded by hand. For chute-loading I shall take an average delay of half an hour, including time wastage caused by traffic congestion. For unloading I take an average of five minutes per ton, plus five minutes. For example, for a 1-ton load the time is 10 minutes, for a 2-ton load 15 minutes, and a 5-ton load half an hour. The total for terminal delays, carrying a 5-ton load, is an hour.
The next thing we must setee i. road speed. So far as this is concerned, I propose to use the figures which I 'applied in the March 28 article. During the first half-mile and last half-mile of each journey the vehicle travels at 6 m.p.h, and takes 10 minutes a mile. For the second halfmile at each end of the journey I assume 15 m.p.h., so that that half-mile takes two minutes, or four minutes for the mile. For the third half-mile the average speed is 24 m.p.h., or If minutes per half-mile, or 2i minutes per mile. Thereafter I assume that the vehicle travels at the maximum legal speed, 30 m.p.h., taking a minute for the half-mile or two minutes for the mile.
Applying Basic Figures
These figures are, of course, necessary in calculating the time taken to travel over any distance, adding that to the terminal delay, to get the full time spent on the job.
For a one-mile lead the time will be 10 minutes each way, that is to say, 20 minutes' travelling time in all. For a twomile lead the time each way will be 14 minutes and the total 28 minutes. For a three-mile lead the total time will he 33 minutes, and thereafter each additional mile lead will involve two minutes each way, or a total of four minutes for the complete journey.
By assessing speeds and times in this way, I am able to obviate the need for what is called weighting the rate so as to increase it for short leads and tai.er it off as the lead distance lengthens. I have never liked that method, although I have admittedly used it frequently in the past. I have been trying to devise a simple way of arriving at the rate
without using that system, and, in my view; the problem is solved by calculating the speeds in this manner.
The way in which the rate has been built up for the various types of vehicle is shown in Tables II to IV, inclusive, and I will explain it in reference to Table V, which deals with the build-up of the rate for a 5-ton lorry. I am basing these calculations, of course, on time and mileage charges of Es. 7d. per hour and 5id. per mile.
There is first the terminal charge. I have indicated that the time necessary for loading and unloading a vehicle of this size will be an hour, and, therefore, the first item from the total is 8s. 7d. for the terminal charge.
Next we must build up the travelling charge. First there is the time, just quoted as being 20 minutes for a one-mile lead. At 8s. 74. per hour the charge for 20 minutes is 2s. 10d. Next there is a column for the actual distance travelled, which, for a one-mile lead, is two miles. The charge for that at 51d. per mile is 11d. The total travelling charge is thus the time charge of 2s. 10d., plus the mileage charge of 11d., which gives me 3s. 9d.
The total charge for the journey is made up of the Es. 7d. terminal charge and the 3s. 9d. total travelling charge (12s. 4d.). The rate per ton for a 5-ton load to bring a revenue of not less than 12s. 4d. is a fraction under 2s. 6d., and therefore 2s. 6d. may be taken to be the rate.
I am not overlooking the fact that, when delivering grit, small stones, and road material, the operator is often instructed to shovel this off, usually in one cubic yd. ot 1-ton loads, at short intervals along the side of the road. I have calculated that there is reasonable provision in the terminal time for this method of unloading. The time to unload is still about five minutes per ton, plus five minutes. The distance travelled during unloading is usually .short, and the time taken to cover it is reasonably provided for in the speed rates quoted.
I do not think it is necessary to give any further explanation of the method of calculating the figures and rates set down in Table V. or, indeed, in any of the other Tables. The method is precisely the same as that just described, but there is one point with which I ought to deal.
When the lead distance exceeds three miles, the speed of travel, as laid down above, is taken to be 30 m.p.h. There is, therefore, an even rise in the rate to be charged for the vehicle as each mile is added to the lead.
If the operator wishes to ascertain a rate for mileages in excess of six, he should proceed as follows:-There is a note at the bottom of the table which states that the rate should rise by 3d. per ton per mile lead. If a haulier wishes to quote for an 11-mile lead, all that he needs do is to multiply 3d. by five, which gives ls. 3d. He adds Is. 3d. to 3s. 11d., and his rate is 5s. 2d.
There will be many readers who will not be satisfied with this method of reckoning journeys in hours and minutes. They will say that what they really want to know is how many journeys per day could be completed for any particular lead, using that as a basis for calculation of costs, rates and profits. I fully agree with them. I will deal with that aspect of the matter by taking examples of lead distances and ;working them out to see how many journeys can be completed each week, assessing the total revenue and
Miles lead 1 2 3 4 5 6
the net profit, assuming that the costs and rates are as set out earlier in this article.
I am assuming that the arrangement is to work four days of nine hours (540 minutes) and one day of eight hours (480 minutes) per week, thus complying with one of the alternative provisions of R.H.22, which came into operation last month.
According to Table V, the theoretical time for a one-mile lead with a 5-ton load is 80 minutes-one hour at terminals and 20 minutes travelling. Eighty times seven equals 560, so that in order to complete seven round journeys, we should, theoretically, have to have 20 minutes overtime. I think, however, it is more than likely that means will be found for completing seven journeys in the nine hours. On the fifth day we can just do six journeys. The total number of journeys per week is thus four times seven, plus six, which is 34.
Thirty-four journeys at •12s. 4d. each earn £20 19s, 4d. The profit in all cases is one-sixth of the total earnings. That arises directly from the fact that in order to arrive at the total earnings, we add 20 per cent, to the cost. The profit for a week's work on a one-mile lead of a 5-tonner is, therefore, nearly £3 10s.
For a two-mile lead, still considering the 5-tonner, the total time per journey is 88 minutes, and we shall have to accept the fact that during a ninehour day, only six journeys may be expected to be completed and five on the fifth day of eight
hours. The total earnings, therefore, amount to 29 times 14s, 7d., which is £21 2s. 11d, and the profit again, is about £3. 10s. for the week.
There is a certain wastage of time here. There is a loss of 12 minutes on each nine-hour day and 40 minutes on the eight-hour day, and it is possible that yet another journey may be forced in during the week-possibly a couple of runs. For each journey the additional revenue will be 14s. 7d. and the profit approximately 2s. 6d. This is an instance of the difficulty of working in an even number of journeys per day without wasting time or working over
time. Nevertheless, even at six journeys per nine-hour and five per eight-hour day, the profit is still £3 10s. a week.
A three-mile journey needs 93 minutes. Six journeys would take 558 minutes, or 18 minutes over the nine hours. All that is needed, therefore, is to save three minutes per journey and the six trips can be completed without overtime. It seems reasonable to expect that that is likely to occur often and we have, therefore, the same number of journeys over the three-mile lead as we have over the two, that is to say, 29 in a week. The revenue per journey is 16s. Id., per week £23 6s. 5d., and the profit £3 17s. 9d.
Just one more example, taking a 2-tonner with the object of showing the difference in earning capacity. Over the one-mile lead a 2-tonner needs 65 minutes, and will, therefore, easily do eight journeys in the nine-hour day and seven in the eight-hour day. If the numbers of journeys be eight and seven respectively, the total number of journeys per week is 39 and the revenue is 39 times 7s. 101d., or £15 7s. lid., with a profit of £2 1 ls. per week.
During those weeks when, because of diminished delays, the numbers of journeys are nine and eight respectively, the total will be 44 journeys per week, the revenue £17 6s. 6d., and the profit £2 17s. 7d. S.T.R.