Belgian quiz on waiting times
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The Belgian National Association of Industrial Enterprises has published he results of its inquiry into haulier's :omplaints on waiting times. Partici)ants in the investigation included 1..ollieries, quarries, light industry, igricultural suppliers, public works mdertakings and refineries.
A total of almost 2.5 million /elide movements loading 43 tons at actories, terminals, etc, was analysed is well as the movement of 327,400 rehicles which discharged just over i.5 m tons. This produced an average )f marginally over 17 tons of payoad per vehicle covered by the nquiry. The figures are claimed to epresent approximately one-third of ill domestic commercial haulage novements in Belgium.
Attempts to relate the type of ;oods and commodities and the wide ;ariety of handling or packing nethods (ie bulk, liquid, palletized, rated) to the waiting and subequent handling time produced iothing to conflict with generally ccepted practice.
In another section concerning dvance notification of vehicle rrival time it is stated that only 19 pc rf all hauliers conform to this .ractice although one in three of their vehicles do not adhere to the arrangement made. Contrary to the widely held impression that most plants refuse to.accept vehicles for loading or off-loading after 17.00 hr the Belgian investigation reveals that only 12 pc of all enterprises set this limit; 11.9 pc will handle hauliers' vehicles between 17.00 and 20.00 hr, 40.4 pc extend this to 22.00 hr while a staggering 35.7 pc will still deal with in or outgoing traffic — after 22.00 hr.
Only 4.5 pc of all firms interrupt the loading and unloading process during the midday break, in marked contrast to the practice which generates midday queues at some of the country's frontier posts.
Turn-round times at factories do not exceed 30 minutes for 72 pc of all units; 12 pc are held for up to one hour, 14.5 pc up to two hours while the remaining 1.5 pc may need up to four hours. EEC tariffs include a 12minute/ tonne basis for loading or unloading vehicles. In the majority of cases in the Belgian report rates of one to three min/ tonne were achieved. Only in the 2-4 hr group did the time per tonne handled approach or exceed the EEC norm. Excessive exhaust or noise emission is rated at one point while insufficient distance from the vehicle in front, at speeds above 80 km/ h (50 mph), scores three points. The omission, or inadequate precautions, to warn other traffic of a disabled vehicle will collect two points or the maximum of seven if actual danger is caused to road users.
Dutch trailer sales surge
The expansion of container traffic at Dutch ports and the continuing build-up of rental and leasing fleets based in the Netherlands are two major factors stimulating spectactular trailer and semi-trailer sales. Last year's unprecedented increase of 69 pc over 1972 brought the total to 8,500 units while the first quarter of 1974 — with the inhibitory background of the energy crisis — still recorded a healthy 23 pc improvement over the same period of 1973. By the end of March 1660 semitrailers and 870 drawbar trailers had been sold Dutch successes in the trailer business are exemplified by the plans recently announced by Pacton NV, one of the country's major trailer builders and incidentally the sole remaining container manufacturer. Pacton proposes plant extensions to allow an annual output of 4,000 units to be achieved by 1976, This figure will include a substantial amount of dry and liquid bulk carriers. Earlier this year the firm launched the new Com-Pac't integral construction semi-trailer tanker with a capacity of 30,000 litres (6,599ga1) within an overall length of only 9.58 m (31.4ft). Specially aimed at operators using ro/ro routes, where the Com-Pac't will attract lower shipping rates, the new stainless steel tanker is based on a 24-ton tri-axle bogie.