Conducted by EDMUND DANGERFIELD.
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Editor: EDWARD S. SHRAPNELL-SMITH.
Vol. XVIII. No. 450. 23rd October, 1913,
Small-van Developments.
We learn of new inquiry for small four-wheeled vans of about 5 cwt. capacity. This inquiry reaches us from parties who desire to take up the sale of such a model on a large scale. Our friends in this case are not enamoured of the three-wheeled parcelcar, and they inform us that they consider there is a great deal of new trade to be secured by the offering, on proper and sustained lines, of what may be termed a miniature van.
Cost in ;elation to capacity is one of the crucial tests of any proposition of this nature' and one frequently finds that a small van, whilst ideal if considered from constructional and performance standpoints alone, is not marketed at a price which enables those who seek to handle it to meet competition. Many traders who are desirous to add miniature vans to their delivery equipment will not look at a first cost in excess of £150, and the more the price is below that figure the better they are pleased. We do not necessarily concur in the wisdom of this view, having regard to the undoubted advantage of paying sufficient in the first instance to get a good machine, and thus to save money in respect of low running charges, maintenance, and depreciation, but we are obliged, no doubt in common with the friends who have been writing to us, to admit the facts of the situation. Everybody recognizes the potential scope. If trny manufacturer is desirous and prepared seriously to. entertain 'offers for the control of his Outnnt and sales of a model of the kind which we indicate,our services are at his disposal in the matter. We, of course, will not disclose the name of either party to the other unless or until we are satisfied that good results will follow, to the mutual advantage. of the -maker, on the one hand, and of the factor, who is wishful to take up this line, on the other, We guarantee bona-fides.
Normal or Abnormal Costs ?
The inquiries for the free reprint of our current tables of working costs have been numerous. We were obliged, through the running-out-of-print of the issue in which they appeared (20th May last), to put in hand a further supplyin sheet form. These sheets, testimony concerning the value. of which has reached us from all quarters, are now in stock in sufficient numbers to enable Os to meet demands without delay. We. have to add, by-request of oar postal_ department, that applicant'swill -assist us by enclosing stamped and addressed envelopes ; there is no charge for the sheet itself. :We are'gratified to note the widespread nature of the response to this *Offer, and to feel that so many owners have given instructions to their despatch managers to institute the necessary analyses, comparisons and extracts. One important, point, so far' emerges very prominently in thecorrespondence that has taken place. It is not a new point, but evidently one as to which further insistence on our part is required. We refer to the lack of appreciation for the claims of motor
contractors to be paid considerable percentage margins above the ascertained costs that are applicable to owners who provide their own loads.
Users are seldom tolerant of these just claims, and nothing is farther from our intentions than to render the lot of the motor contractor more difficult than it is. We have frequently drawn attention to the essential differences between the two classes of undertaking, and in the tables themselves we have advisedly printed certain reminders. One of these makes clear that the costs are in every case "exclusive of management charges," whilst the other indicates that "contractors' rates are necessarily higher than the above totals."
We now ps-oceed briefly to state the case for the contractor, in order that any dilatory freight-payer may the more readily make allowances in respect of the advantages--provided they appeal to him—of his contracting for the hire of motor vehicles instead of purchasing and running them himself. These are :- Purchase : capital outlay ; at least two weeks annually for overhaul and occasional repairs of breakdown ; risk of expensive damage due to unsatisfactory drivers ' vehicle and driver standing idle when not required; fire, accident, and third-party insurance ; probable insurance difficulties, due to storage of petrol ; necessity for competent motor engineer, if vehicles to be maintained in best condition, and for extra drivers ; no flexibility ; choice of machine.
Hire : no capital outlay ; no time lost—annual contract would include service of reserve vehicle ; vehicle in good order, and competent driver always at service of hirer ; charges cease when vehicle not in use on hirer's work ; hire rates include all risks ; no trenble through petrol on premises ; no special staff required, and no drivers "going sick" and leaving vehicle stranded ; reserve drivers included ; temporary pressure met ; vehicle or tractor supplied. Rirther, in older to send home certain considerations from other view-points, we give a short summary to illustrate the diPerences between the work and the expenses of an owner and a contractor :— Owner : loads provided ; known weights and dimensions ; common employment ; times for loading settled by instructions ; existing staff furnishes surervision; routes and places of call well known ; few claims ; no stand-by vehicles or tractors ; no additional, or merely nominal, rent.
Contractor : loads to be secured ; various classes of traffic to be taken ; several masters ; other people's convenience to be suited; all management to be charged ; drivers may have to go " anywhere " ; claim risks high ; reserves essential to continued trade ; special depot.
The above analysis puts the whole case concisely, and not for the first time in our pages. The justification for a measure of repetition is furnished by our desire to acquaint the many thousands of new readers of THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR., the bulk of Whom have become supporters of this journal since the Olympia Show of July last, of the chief considerations under each alternative course of sprocedure.