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Problems of the

21st July 1931, Page 54
21st July 1931
Page 54
Page 55
Page 54, 21st July 1931 — Problems of the
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

HAULIER and CARRIER THE conditions under 'which road transport is carried on vary considerably, and as they directly affect the cost of operation it follows that cost itself may differ, if not in direet proportion to the conditions, certainly sufficiently to make it impossible to quote definite figures which can be expected at all times to stand criticism or comparison.

That is the principal reason, oft repeated in these columns, why The Commercial Motor Tails of Operating Costs are always emphatically referred to as averages and why readers are always strongly recommended to keep their own records of costs, using the Tables in two ways : (a) for purposes of comparison with their own figures and (b) in connection with work in prospect involving the use of types and sizes of vehicle of the use of which the contractor concerned has not had any experience.

The predominant item in running cost is, of course, petrol consumption. It is, fortunately, • the one concerning which most users have some information and it is, therefore, easy to point the argument that I have just put forward by taking petrol consumption as an example.

Fuel Consumption-A Variable Factor.

Experienced readers and users of commercial motors will hardly need to be told how fuel consumption is liable to vary, how it is different even in the same vehicle on similar kinds of work. They know enough, at least, to be receptive of any suggestion that it varies in other ways.

A few words anent the conditions which most affect petrol consumption must be introduced here. There are circumstances due to the particular class of work upon which the vehicle is engaged; there are those connected. with the type of country which the machine has to traverse, and there are those brought about by its usage at the hands of drivers and those whose business it is to maintain it.

I have often cited building construction as one which is hard on a motor vehicle. The materials which have to be carted are often difficult to handle and, therefore, difficult to load in such a way as to give the B36

vehicle what might be called "a chance." Often enough new buildings are erected in advance of the construction of the roads which ,will eventually lead to them. This means that the vehicle has in the course Of each journey to traverse unmade ground, and even if there be a road in existence actual delivery-ofthe materials often invelves leaving that road with corresponding rough treatment of chassis and tyres and inevitable extra consumption of fuel brought about by prolonged manoeuvring in first and reverse gears. .

My views concerning building construction and the way in which it is hard on motor vehicles were confirmed the other day in conversation with a builder who tells me that the life of a popular make of light lorry is, according to his experience, under two years. As the annual mileage on this class of work is invariably moderate my friend's experience points to the fact that depreciation is at the rate of a 50,000 miles' life, instead of the average of 150,000 miles, thus increasing the single item of depreciation by as much as 200 per cent. All the other items of running cost are affected, although not to the same extent.

Different Trades Affect Running Costs.

It will readily be agreed that there are at least a dozen trades that, by reason of the conditions under which their transport is carried on, would be likely to affect, to a greater or less extent, the running costs of the vehicles employed therein, in the same way as in that particular instance.

But it is not only the circumstances involted in the kind of work itself that affect costs adversely or otherwise, but also the way in which the vehicle is driven, haw it is maintained, and the lattention it reedives at the hands of those responsible for its upkeep. Petrol consumption, tyre life, wear of brake facings and the general condition of the transmission can be aggravated by 100 per cent. if these particular conditions be unfavourable.

Now, if we take extreme cases, say, on the one hand, a particular type, size and make of vehicle employed on work which is favourable to good performance, in the charge of a good driver and carefully and

conscientiously maintained and, on the other hand, one which is at work under difficult conditions, in the hands of a careless driver and is neglected, then it will be realized that an extremely wide variation in the running costs is likely to result.

I am stressing this point just now because I am about to depart from a rule to which I have most strictly held for many years, namely, never to discuss the difference in fuel costs involved in light and loaded running. The reason for the rule is a good one, and it still exists. It is not right to hold out hopes of economy in fuel consumption as means for cutting haulage rates when other considerations may affect that item of cost in the other direction so as not merely to eliminate the anticipated economy, but to cause increased rather than decreased expenditure.

As a simple example of a condition of use which might easily upset any such calculation I need only compare the fuel consumption of a vehicle constantly employed in congested traffic, with another almost continuously engaged on long non-stop runs along main highways. The consumption of fuel in the former ease may quite easily he 30 per cent, higher than in the latter and that increase will, as the figures which I am about to disclose demonstrate, more than offset any economy which is the outcome of light running. I do, however, receive many inquiries from hauliers in which the condition of light running is mentioned as an indication that the inquirer anticipates that some economies may possibly be effected as the outcome of that condition.

I have endeavoured—endeavoured, J repeat—to find

a figure for consumption which will meet those circumstances. At the same time, I should warn all those to whom these figures have an appeal that a careless driver or some unusual traffic condition, such as, for example, one involving the negotiation of several miles of road where one-way traffic prevails, because of road construction, will upset all these calculations and render the figures valueless.

Now, to get on to the real subject of this article, to give these inquirers some idea of the differences in fuel consumption involved in different circumstances of loading, other things, it is understood, being equal.

I shall not go through the whole range of sizes and types of vehicle, but shall take only the most popular and commonly used petrol-engined machines. I shall also confine my attention to load-carrying vehicles, because the conditions of passenger transport are rarely such as to make it possible to state with any degree of accuracy what proportion of load is likely to be carried on any journey.

The only exception to this is where a coach is used for carrying workmen only one way, taking them to their work in the mornings and bringing them back in the evenings. Readers who do not engage in that

class of work can, by reference to a corresponding size of goods vehicle, obtain some idea of the proportionate savings.

I would emphasize again that the figures given must be used with all reserve, but, given that qualification, my readers may find the information useful in cases where those quotations are called for in connection with long-period contracts, the detail conditions of which they are acquainted with to a sufficient extent to enable them to judge how far these figures may be applied.

The accompanying table gives the figures under four headings. There are those which would apply in the case of vehicles which invariably carry a full load: there are those concerning machines which, on the average, carry burdens that are such that the vehicle is loaded for the equivalent of 75 per cent, of its time. Those are usual conditions and are the ones to which the figures in The Gornmercial Motor Tables of Operating Costs apply.

The third series is, perhaps, the most interesting as

giving figures which may be expected in connection with work where the vehicle is fully loaded one way and invariably returns empty. Finally, there are consumption and the cost of fuel per mile for machines running light. In calculating the cost, petrol is assumed to be purchased at is. 1d. per gallon. It will be noted that only in the larger and heavier types of vehicle is the difference in consumption worthy of consideration.

Taking as an example a 10-cwt. van and assuming it is running 500 miles per week, the expenditure on petrol, (a) if fully loaded, will amount to 25s. per week; (h) if running so that it is loaded for only 50 per cent. of its time, 22s. 6d., as against an average expenditure of 23s. 9d. The difference is only Is. 3d. per week over or under the average figure, which saving is certainly unworthy of serious consideration, On the other hand, a 5-ton lorry covering 1,000 miles per week and fully laden all the time would cost £11 16s. 8d. for petrol, but only £9 3s. 4d. if loaded half its time, the difference being 12 13s. 4d., which is certainly enough to give pause to the reader who might lightly quote for a job involving fully loaded running all the time when his figures were those relating only

to the " 50-50 " class of operation. S.T.R.

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