HINTS FOR HAULIERS.
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Some Further Arguments in Favour of the Establishment of a Haulage Trade Association and a Request for a Postcard.
FOR THE benefit of those readers who have missed some or all of the three articles which have already appeared in connection with the establishment of a Haulage Trade Association, I propose briefly to review the position, as I, and a good many hauliers, big and little, see it. The haulage trade has suffered in a peculiarway from the aftermath of the war. It felt the immediate effect of the boom period for a double reason. Ample loads, at " boom " prices, offered at a time when there was an acute shortage of vehicles, as well as of firms sufficiently interested in the motor side of the trade, and Well enough equipped to be able to cater for the type of business which was offering, business which, on account of the unreadiness of the railways, demanded high carrying capacity combined with speed.
The factor of vehicle shortage rapidly disappeared —and dila, again, for a double reason. War-used lorries came upon the market in great and rapidly increasing numbers, and a good many men, with gratuities to burnand having that desire for the free , and open-air existence which the career of ownerdriver-haulier seemed to offer, took to the motor haulage trade for a living.. The supply of lorries rapidly increased, to such an extent and at such a rate that it soon came to exceed the demand. Rates, accordingly, quickly .fell, the falling process being accelerated as one direct result of the personnel of the industry. .
The Result of Inexperience.
Most of the new men in the trade were almost entirely ignorant of even the first principles of costings, and had no idea whatever as to their real total
business outgoings. The natural consequence was that they had no notion as to theproper prices to charge for their services and for the hire of their lorries. When trade was good they could get loads at the same rates as their competitors—good rates— which paid well. When the pinch came they, being without any real knowledge as to their own financial position, naturally made the mistake of fixing their rates too low, with disastrous results—in the first place to themselves, and ultimately to the trade as a whole.
Yet another war-bred factor also had its effect, which, it must he admitted, was of yarying quality. In some cases the effect was good, in some indifferent, and in some, also, undoubtedly bad. The necessity, during the war, tor thcconservatron of marapowei, petrol, and transport brought into being a system of load clearinghouses. Their principal object was that of ensuring that the most effective use was made of all available transport, and their main efforts were directed towards ensuring that as few lorries as possible, of any kind, ran empty. Loads were found for lorries and lorries for loads.
The underlying principle of these organizations was undoubtedly good, and it was, therefore, only to be .expected that efforts should be made to keep them alive in some form or other after the Government interest in them ceased, which it did, and rightly, immediately the absolute war-born need for them terminated. Some were perpetuated by local Chambers of Commerce ; others were maintained on a commercial basis as a source of revenue to their owners. Some were good ; some were—not. It is, unfortunately2 a fact that those which were—" not" had an ill-effect -out of all proportion to their size and importance. They formed centres for the worst form of rate-cutting—that based upon the business inexperieece of the small hauliers who were their clients ; and the unfair competition thus inaugurated involved
many others in similar, if, in the circumstances, less blameworthy, practices. Moreover, some of these " institutions " were faulty in another respect. They had no capital behind them, and were dependent for their existence on the speedy payment of accounts on the part of their merchant clients ; otherwise, as often, as a matter of fact, has happened, and is still happening, they found themselves unable to pay their haulier customers.
Fixed Rates Which are Not Enforced.
These are, then, the evils which beset the haulage trade to-day. They may all be summed up in one word—undercutting. What has the trade done effectively to combat the trouble? NOTHING. It is quite true that there are hauliers' associations all over the country which, front time to time, fix rates for their .own localities. They do not enforce those rates : they cannot. Even if they found some means of enforcing them amongst their own members ; even—which is more probable—if they found some means, moral or otherwise,of enforcing them on all the hauliers in the area with which they are concerned, the position thus reached would be unstable, for the simple reason that hauliers travel from place to place. Not a day passes but outside men enter any district, bringing loads in, and auxionp—sometimes at any price—to bring loads out again. No local organization could control 'them, or the rates they would acceptfor " return loads." National action is required. A national association, formed either from existing local organizations, or independently, is necessary, with power and the will to use the one weapon which is effective ---that of boycotting or blacklisting.
An Association to Fight Undercutting.
Strong and determined action of this kind has been effective in attaining the same, or similar, ends in other trades ; it is more urgently needed in the haulage trade than it ever has been, or is likely to be, elsewhere. The proposal is, therefore, that a Haulage Trade Association be formed, with headquarters in London, which shall have as its main object the fighting of undercutting in all its forms, and wherever it may take place. The Association should include, in the first place at least, all classes Of haulier—big or little, steam or petrol, motor or horse. It should also include clearing-houses, as being hauliers in a secondary degree.
That is the main head. Details have been, as regards some at any rate, discussed in previous articles. They are hardly relevant at the present stage. If it can be agreed that the main essential— the need for steps to combat the evil of undercutting —may be proceeded with, nothing else matters at the outset. Agreed on the first point, let us have a meeting to decide the initial steps, and get on with it. With a view to helping things forward, will all readers of this page who are genuinely interested write me a postcard, saying either :
"I am in favour of the formation of a Haulage Trade Association as suggested in your articles " ; or "I am NOT in favour of the formation of a Haulage Trade Association as suggested in your articles." That will be a sort of referendum, :tnd will afford a basis for action. The correspondence can be put before all those who are able to attend the initial meeting, which must take place in London.
Postcards should be addressed to me, care of The Editor, The Commercial Motor, 15, Rosebery Avenue,
London, E.C. I. THE SKOTCH.