1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144 
Mr. Quin Wants Rates Details in Big Steel Traffic Bid
Page 60
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
THE importance of economic rates in the presentation of an application was raised in Glasgow on Friday when McKelvie and Co. (B.M. and P.) Ltd. of Barrhead, operating base Motherwell, applied for an A licence for 10 articulated outfits totalling 95 tons, with welltype semi-trailers. They are wanted for carriage of " metal and metal-finished products mainly for Colvilles Ltd„ Ravenscraig Works, in Great Britain ". This is one of a series of applications designed to keep pace with the needs of the new Ravenscraig steelworks at Motherwell and the ancillary works of the group in Lanarkshire and Ayrshire.
Mr. James McKelvie, director, gave evidence that his company was assisting Colvilles in many ways, internally as well as externally. They had ordered 60 welltype trailers for use within the Colvilles works, which would not be licensed vehicles as they worked entirely within Colvilles property, but there were also proposals for new vehicles which would be licensed.
The well trailers were necessary for safe carriage of coif steel, he said, but they could also be decked over to carry flat steels.
British Road Services and British Railways objected.
Mr. R... Mackenzie, for B.R.S., and Mr. David Brown, for B.R., emphasized that this application could release 10 more A-licensed units seeking return loads, and that in due course Coivilks could assist as many as 100 heavy articulated units all taking return traffic. Mr. Brown contended that southward runs from Colvilles were not economic without return loads, and this was conceded.
Mr. W. F. Quin, the Scottish Licensing Authority, then remarked that he was particularly interested in rates. There could be a situation where over 100 vehicles were being employed by a large number of operators on such activity as the traffic for Colvilles steelworks. If 100 vehicles were to be thrown on the highways, all seeking return loads to justify economic rates, that was a factor which would require to be taken into consideration.
There was a suggestion that Colvilles dictated the rates they would pay, but Mr. McKelvie said: "Not to us." He agreed that the outward run would not make a profit although it would meet costs. Mr. Quin said that, as a general rule, rates should recover the operating cost plus normal reasonable profit on the capital employed. He also raised the question of reciprocal exchange of work between individual companies in a major group; by arrangement, any of the companies would carry traffic for any other company in the group if that were a more reasonable and economic arrangement and Mr. McKelvie agreed that this was the general practice.
Mr. McKelvie said that 99 per cent of their long-distance traffic was fully loaded in both directions and •that they did not run empty. Mr. Quin said he would expect detailed information on rates paid for transport of specific types of steel traffic, and would expect the objectors to provide similar information covering the same categories. The hearing was adjourned, with a representative from Colvilles Ltd. still to speak for the application.