Hauliers have had emu of delays at Southampton
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• by Dominic Perry Hauliers are threatening to pull out of the Southampton Container Terminal (SCT) because of loading delays which they say could put them out of business.
Paul Dawson, managing director at Deben Transport, says: "ft costs you £35 an hour to keep the truck waiting on the quayside for four to five hours. Then the customer won't take delivery of the boxes because they are too late so it costs you E350-400 for a wasted load because of delays at the port. If the delays persist we will have to consider our long-term position at Southampton."
Owner-driver Alan Henderson says subcontractors are already leaving: "I have got mates who can't make any money here and are just pulling out" he says. "Personally, I would rather go back abroad than put up with this." Waiting times at the container terminal were highlighted last June (CM 29 June-6 July 2000), but SCT's management insists things have improved.
Head of operations Max Coker says that last week's delays were down to record levels of vehicles being handled by the terminal in the post-Christmas period: "On Wednesday alone we handled 1,355 vehicles, which is indicative of what we are trying to contend with."
The company is also investing in new equipment, taking on another 12 straddle cranes and advertising for new staff.
However; owner-driver John Compton says: "This has been going on for a year or more down here. There are people with brand new trucks costing £80,000 sat on the quayside for hours making no money at all. You can't afford to do that these days— vehicles need to be working."