Small hauliers call it a day
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THERE is no mistaking the message from Holland : over the past five years 1,600 small hauliers have called it a day. In 1970 almost 12,000 firms were engaged in road haulage operations, a number which by the middle of last year had shrunk to 10,326. Practically all the firms which had closed down in that period were in the "small business " category with owner-driver operation or with two to five vehicles. Significantly, the combined capacity of Dutch haulage fleets rose by 56,000 tons in 1974/75 to a total of 739,000 tons thus producing a single fleet average of 71.6 tons. This is an almost threefold increase over a 10-year period.
Recently, our Dutch
contemporary Beroepsvervoer published the results of an operators' survey which placed particular emphasis on vehicle equipment and garage and depot facilities. Of 5,500 questionnaires
(only NOB members were approached) almost 45 per cent were completed, that is by 2,379 firms. While the more usual analysis of vehicle and trailer types provided some insight into the preferences of Dutch hauliers (see table) the Beroepsvervoer sample survey, for the first time, delved more deeply into maintenance trends, garaging facilities and the availability of mechanical handling aids at operators' own depots. Of the 2,379 operators —1,160 of these were fleet owners, that is they worked six or more vehicles-1,753 have their own garages while 1,649 also have their own workshops. However, only 1,092 operators employed their own fitters, which would point to a fair amount of drivers/users doing their own maintenance and servicing. In a breakdown of servicing equipment comprehensive vehicle tool kits and lubrication equipment were