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The times, they are a-changin'
Page 52
Page 53
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There are some smart decisions being made when buying kit for tipper work. Dave Young looks at the trends in the modern marketplace.
For the first time in two years, tipper chassis manufacturers and body builders are allowing themselves a tittle cautious optimism as orders begin to rise. Operators are still suffering a major recessionary hangover, but confidence is rising that the worst is behind us and business can only improve from here.
This sector's sales, both new and used, fell more than most during the recession and operators have similarly suffered; in summer 2008 one firm saw traffic drop 40% in less than a month, with volumes slow to recover But there is now hope.
Daf marketing director Tony Pain reports an upturn in eight-wheeler rigid chassis sales. albeit from "an incredibly low level-. at the nadir some manufacturers reported monthly sales in single figures. In common with competitors the majority of stock has now been cleared, although a few bargains remain, particularly for those with ready funds. During January 2010 Daf sold 40 four-axle chassis, and in March. 200. The surge is partly, reckons Pain, because some operators just can't delay replacement any longer and also need the Euro-5-engined models permitted to operate in LEZ zones.
A few big public sector funded infrastructure projects provided respite for some fortunate tipper operators. Witness McArdle's work on the M25, Mll and A3 improvement contracts for which they purchased both single IDA and double [MAN) hub reduction, steel-bodied, 32tonne GVW rigids. But a stagnant housing market, over supply of commercial property and the refusal of banks to lend, has frozen many private construction initiatives. To add to tipper operators' woes some quarries, such as Tarmac, cut tonnage rates.
Operator preferences
Manufacturers report "minimal.' two and threeaxle rigid tipper sales with most of the threeaxle chassis being used on self-loading 'grab' work for utilities and the two-axles where access and customer service, rather than payload, are the priority.
Despite an increasing preference for articulated tippers to shift aggregate typically offering 25% or more additional payload many operators say access and stability issues mean it's a case of adding one or two to a fleet rather than abandoning four-axle rigids. which is now the construction industry's default chassis. Renault has recently experienced some success in the aggregate sector with its Lander model, effectively a tipper-bodied haulage chassis offering a significant potential unladen weight saving.
MAN chassis are proving popular on muckaway work. MJ Church bought six and general manager David Bell says a major factor was the employment of EGR technology, to avoid AdBlue and because on tipper operation chassis space is at a premium. "We're very pleased with the performance of the Tipmatic gearbox, which works particularly well in offroad mode," he says. In contrast many operators, such as McArdle, continue to prefer manual transmissions for this arduous task.
Perhaps surprisingly Mark Rouse, sales manager of Wilcox UK. reports, "particular customer interest in walking-floor trailers for aggregates and asphalt". Rouse says some contractors aren't happy with artics tipping into road laying machines for reasons of safety and potential damage. Wilcox claims to be the largest UK walking-floor maker Such trailers can also enter quarries from which articulated tippers are banned.
Another innovative use of the concept is by Downton who increasingly employs them to deliver newspapers and magazines to
wholesalers and then backload unsold copies to recycling centres; this provides what MD Andrew Downton describes as, an end to end customer service ...outward supply and reverse logistics-.
A recent Commercial Motor survey revealed the agricultural transport sector as the most optimistic and construction the most pessimistic, views confirmed by Ray Engley, chairman of the RHA specialist tipper group.
He reports agricultural work to be not too bad at all" with sugar beet just harvested and cereal and other arable crops following in succession until the year end.
Unfortunately construction work has not yet recovered, reports Engley, with the situation made more complex by customers demanding vehicles fitted with increasing amounts of additional equipment, such as low level rear warning lights. The Department for Transport says more than half the deaths of cyclists in London are caused by collisions with trucks due to their nearside blindspot and demolition specialist Keltbray has fitted a range of Brigade Electronics blindspot warning sensors to its fleet. The HSE is keeping up the pressure to cut injuries and items such as ladders must be firmly fixed to bodyvvork and never free standing. This all means additional outlay for tipper hauliers fighting rising fuel costs and for whom off-mad and PTO operation mean higher consumption. Consequently some companies are monitoring the aerodynamics of tipper trailers. Hanson has purchased conical-shaped STAS TPX models with angled rear doors and wheel-arch fins to cut drag.
Buying used
Firms working on bulk waste disposal mainstays of high volume walking-floor and ejector trailer use and recycling seem to have weathered the recession best, cushioned by what is ultimately an essential service underwritten by government money and the UK's continuing heavy reliance on landfill.
The RHA says many members have postponed buying new tippers, adapting a policy of make do and mend, a view endorsed by Dale Payne, MD of Payne Bros, a Fakenham-based specialist bulk tipper hire and sales company. He has been "selling a Lot of nearly new, around 18 months old, tipping trailers. Manufacturers hold no stock so a new trailer could take six
weeks to build. The sporadic nature of current work with short lead-ins means customers either want it now or not at all, so many are happy to save around 20% on new price. Its all impulse buying at the moment." Payne's agricultural customers are hiring at the expected Level for the time of year, but -aggregate work is just not there-.
Exemplifying the regional construction work lottery, with volumes varying throughout the UK, the long established Selby Garages fleet is currently working to capacity, taking stone from local East Midlands quarries all over the UK and also managing to backload similar products. "There was an upturn towards Easter:reports owner Andy Selby. His 12strong fleet is typically 75% rigid and 25% artic and a mixture of makes. Company policy is to buy and having just purchased a new vehicle he confirms current prices are keen.
Indicative of the tipper sector's current ups and downs the unfortunate demise of Fruehauf has at least had the silver lining of assisting its competitors, while the Thompson group has recently secured a valuable PFI contract to supply 134 heavy-duty bodies to the MOD.