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• COMMENT DO IT YOURSELF?

21st April 1988, Page 13
21st April 1988
Page 13
Page 13, 21st April 1988 — • COMMENT DO IT YOURSELF?
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

• Is it better to own or rent — to travel hopefully or to arrive? For Esso this week it is obviously better to rent and travel hopefully to a more efficient transport operation.

For own-account hauliers all over the UK the haulage industry is a temptation, offering them the chance to contract out their trucks and employ their time, expertise and money in their core business, such as marketing oil, dery or, in Esso's case petroleum.

The traditional argument is that an oil, confectionery or manufacturing company should not waste its time transporting its own goods. It should put the whole shooting match out to tender, control prices more effectively by threatening to withdraw the contract if the third party distribution firm gets things wrong and make its bucks faster. The argument has become conventional wisdom.

Naturally, the TGWU is not so sure that the whole process is productive. It has vested interested to promote of course, but the roots of its concern go deeper. Down Quality Street at Rowntree Mackintosh, the company has decided to revert to own-account, in-house transport after several years of toeing the third-party line. It found that it just did not have enough control of what was happening day to day, and no direct system of quality control.

The argument will continue to rumble on, but the decision of the oil giants to go third party could be a turning point for the whole debate. They have traditionally paid the best drivers' wages, created the best of working conditions and bought the best of British trucks. If all that changes, and standards slip, it could be the beginning of a whole-scale return to own-account transport.

A lot of money and a lot of attention is going to be focussed on the Esso deal.

• As you may have noticed, we have had to make our first price increase in over a year, to 85 pence. Needless to say we will continue to reward your support with the best roadtests, the best features, and the hottest news in the road transport industry. We'll also continue to offer added value with Workshop, Legal Bulletin, our handbook series and 21 Powerpack tokens; you'll find another of those in this issue.

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