HINTS FOR HAULIERS.
Page 21
Page 22
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
This Week the Operations and Quoted Rates of the Clearing-house are Analysed and Compared with Those of the Small Man.
E take a daily paper every, morning at our
• house. At least, we do on every morning that the aim of the newsboy is good. SG far as we can judge—he comes far too early for us ever to be likely to witness the event—he stands at the garden gate, a long one—long garden, I mean. .—and throws the paper at the house. If his aim is good it lands inside the porch of the front door, he scores a bull's eye, and we get our paper. If it Misses the porch he still goes on his way rejoicing,
and our success or failttre in acquiring the paper is dependent largely upon the violence• and direction of the prevailing wind. When fortune does favour us and we get our paper, the covering sheet, containing the serial " Teddy Tail," and "Pictures on the Back Page," is promptly commandeered by the rest of the family. I have to content myself with the remainder, containing the names of insured people who were fortunate enough to sustain an accident the day previous, a net sales certificate and a list of probable starters and prices. • In view of all this, I suppose 1 may count myself lucky in that I did not actually miss seeing an important advertisement Which occupied the whole of the front page of my paper a few days ago, an advertisement which dealt with a novel development of motor haulage, as represented by the activities of the National Road Transport Clearing House, Ltd. As, however, the particular 'daily paper to 'which I refer has a net. sale of 1,740,000 and odd, and is, therefore, in all probability read by about three million people, it as very unlikely that the advertisement in question altogether escaped the notice of all my readers. What, then, does it nortend, and how will the activities of this company affect the small haulier?
The Clearing-house and the Freight Exchange.
Now, if the advertisement is anything to go by— and it certainly speaks very well of the concern, as being a big and powerful company, which has already succeeded in making its presence felt, in satisfying not a few influential clients, and in demonstrating thoroughly, in more quarters than one, the advantages which road transport possesses over at least one other—tranSport by rail. So far, then, its operations are likely to .have benefited the haulier in general. It describes itself as a clearing-house and I have stated (last week) that I do not like clearing-houses, and that the haulier has also no particular reason to favour them. They are, hOwever, better, from his point of view, than freight exchanges and more practicable.. This affair seems to be a clearing-house of clearing-houses, dealing in tons where the ordinary local establishment might deal in pounds, and, at the very least, we Shall watch its development with considerable interest. There it this important aspect of it which I should like to discuss to-day. If it is able to attract all the traffic which its apparent enterprise undeniably deserves, it is vary improbable that it will attempt to deal with it all by means of its own fleet, but it must be largely dependent on outside help ; the aid of a good many independent hauliers will be required, and, that being .so, are the rates likely to prove remunerative? At the same time, too, we mat profitably consider to what extent the rates which the company has advertised are "cut. rates." It is far from easy to decide. In some cases the rates would pay the ordinary haulier ; in others they would hardly defray his operating costs, let alone pay his overhead charges and find a profit.
If we ignore what appear to be extreme cases and judge by averages, this is what we find:—Overall, the charge is rather under 5d. per ton per mile. It is higher both for short and long journeys, being nearly. 6d. for journeys of less than 50 miles or over 250 miles. This, of course, is quite logical. Short runs involve an excess of terminal delays; long ones carry a greater risk of expenditure on roadside delays, and also bring higher cost owing to maintenance of drivers away from home, and so on. The average rate for journeys of a length, intermediate to the two extremes named, is 41d. per ton per mile. No haulier can :compete with that rate with a, 3-ton lorry unless he can keep going 500 miles a week, every mile of the 500 being paid for at the tonnage rate—namely, is. td. On such a basis his gross profit would be 2.7d. a mile, 25 12s. 6d. a week, net profit about, 23—but who can obtain or keep a contract like that ? A Man with a 5-tonner is in much better case. His payment for a full load is is. aid. His operating cost on a 300-mile week is is. 3.19d., so that he makes a gross profit of 7.3d. a mile-29 2s. 6d. a week.
The Chances of the Small Man in Competition.
These figures give an indication of the extent to which the ordinary haulier can compete on the published schedule of rates. They show that, on the whole, the small man would have but a small chance whenever he came into direct. competition. Actually, conditions are not nearly so unfavourable, and this company's operations will. scarcely touch the average reader of this page, because the lines are altogether different from those along Which most of my correspondents direct their efforts. They can generally find quite enough to keep them occupied locally, particularly in connection with public works, road construction, building operations and the like. There is, moreover, still ample room for all that are in the business, and more room is coming.
The exact extent of this company's activities, either present or future, is not known to me but it rather appears that, in the main, it will confine itself to long-distance haulage of heavy loads, each of which may consist of a number of consignments from various clients. It proposes to compete with the railways, offering not nier4 reduced rates, but also the specific advantages which are always associated with mechanical road transport in comparison with rail-borne traffic—namely, door-to-door collection and delivery, with reduction of ,handling and, consequently, reduced cost of packing, reduction of -warehouse charges, the exclusion of local cartage charges, quicker deliveries, and no on. It is rather difficult to -see how all these advan
tages are ,going to be ensured if the usual clearinghouse methods arc adhered to, but for the' moment that is by the way. What does appear to be clear is that the vast majority of hauliers , will be left undisturbed by the activities of this concern. They may, therefore, observe its progress with a fair
• amount of equanimity. • It still remains, for this week's article, for me to consider how far a man with a 5-tonner to spare may take a hand in the business by accepting contracts, always'assuniing, of.course, that 1 am right in thinking that the company will require. such aid.
Taking again the average rate of 41d. per ton
per mile, and calculating on that, I have shown that, at 300 -loaded miles per week (and .none light), the haulier would make a gross profit of £9 2s. 6d. The rate named, however, is what the clearing-house charges its customers ;•it could not, therefore, afford to pay that same .rate to a sub-contractor. Now, part of the above-named gross profit would be dissipated in overhead charges, advertising, contingency fund, and so on. The sum of 23 2s. 6d. a week might easily be lost in this way. A good contract with the clearing-house would eliminate the need for most of this expenditure, reducing it to about a pound a week. The haulier working on such a contract could, therefore, do with a gross profit of not more than 27 a week ; probably, in view of the certainty of the job, 26 would be sufficient • The haul?er should endeavour to get terms per mile run, with a guaranteed minimum weekly mileage, and a contract extending over at least six months. The above figures of is. 6d. and is. 8d. per mile for 400 miles and 300 miles per week arc the minim.tun. These rates are not applicable to ordinary contracts. It is not likely that a contract for less than 300 miles d week would pay either' side. THE SKOTCH.