TT — stuck in the middle
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AS A MATTER of customer relations it is good to see that Townsend Thoresen fully supports hard-working hauliers in their efforts to retain their hard-won export contracts (I refer to the Daily Telegraph report, February 6, that TT refused to ship a Northern Ireland lorry loaded with 21 tons of turkeys from Portsmouth to Le Havre).
Without an export contract any international haulier would find it totally impossible to cover escalating overheads and would have to discontinue use of TT's services. Despite this, it appears that this line expects hauliers to use "commonsense" and avoid sending meat during the French farmers' blockade.
Let me say, first, that the haulier does not decide when a consignment of meat is
delivered to the markets in France. This decision is made by the meat factories which, when dealing with an extremely perishable product, have their own schedules to keep to, and obviously the bulk of fresh meat is required to be delivered at the beginning of the week to catch the market.
How long does TT think a haulier would keep his export contract if he informed his customer that his load would not be delivered until Friday of this week because "commonsense" demanded that he backs down to the unlawful intimidation by the French farmers?
Second, to quote one of the ferry line's regular customers in the same article: "I take meat in and often bring French produce to Britain. It is a two-way traffic but the French appear to want it all one way."
Accordingly, I am sure that should the British farmers organise a week of action in protest at the importation of French apples and milk we can rely on Townsend not to ship lorries carrying the French produce for fear that they "might be caught up in a demonstration by British Farmers."
No doubt Townsend could tell the angry French hauliers that they "deal with the British all the time and don't wish to do anything provocative to aggravate a difficult situation."
Thank you, Townsend, once again for standing right behind our haulage industry and furthering the cause of the "free market economy"!
FRANK HOLMES Managing Director, Hunters Ltd (International Transport) Forest Gate, London E7
A Townsend Thoresen spokeswoman told CM: "Most people were warned to beat the rush or wait a couple of days. We are a commercial concern as well and look after the interests of everybody concerned. The 'dispute' reached the point where farmers were waiting for us with hay and petrol and were allowed by the Customs to come on our ship and inspect the cargo. We do stand up for British hauliers where we can. Free enterprise is what we are all about. We can't afford to aggravate the French."—Editor.