PROBLEMS OF THE HAULIER AND CARRIER.
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The Problem of the Ton-mile in the Case where its Application Might Have Benefited the Haulier.
WHEN I concluded my former article-I was in the middle of a discussion of the meaning of the term "ton-mile." It is not that I particularly want to discuss it myself, or that I believe that it is of very great importance to hauliers. I do, however, receive so•many inquiries, either as to the meaning, or for figures of cost expressed in ton-miles (the latter, as a rule, so worded that I am convinced that the inquirer does not really want that for which he asks) that I am sure some explanation of the term and discussion of its application are desirable.
The Sort of Inquiry Involved.
I mentioned, -too, examples of this kind of inquiry and promised to deal with them more extensively in this article. One of them came from a hardier who had just purchased a couple of 1-ton Morris vehicles. His was a definite inquiry as to the rate he should charge per ton-mile. Since, however, according to the information embodied in his letter, he had obtained a
contract which involved doing a regular 250 miles per week with. each lorry, thus making it fairly obvious that he would be regularly loaded either one way only or both ways, the object of inquiring the cost per tonmile was more obscure than is usually the case. I told him that I would answer him if he would give me some indication of the percentage of the travelling time during which the lorry would be loaded and what loads would be carried during that time. He has not yet answeredmy letter, but we can, in the meantime, discuss the problem in a way which may be generally useful.
The cost of operating this vehicle for 250 Miles per week under the conditions set down in the letter of inquiry is 7d. per mile. If it be loaded all the time then that is also the cost per ton-mile, since it is carrying a ton a mile for every mile it runs. If it is only loaded for half the distance, as would be the case were it loaded one way only, then it has carried one ton for 125 miles. The total ton-mileage is, then, 125. The total cost is 7d. multiplied by 250, which is £7 5s. 10d. Divide that by 125 ton-miles, and the cost per ton-mile works out at is. 2d.
Suppose that, in addition to getting a regular load one way, this haulier is able to till up his vehicle with empty cases weighing in all, say, 4 cwt., or a fifth of a ton on the return. In those circumstances his tonmileage is 125 on the outward journeys and one-fifth of a ton multiplied by 125 miles, which is 25 ton-miles, on the return. The total is 150 ton-miles. The total cost is the same as before, namely £7 5s. 10d., and the cost per ton-mile is now only 11.7d.
That information may or may not be of some use to this particular inquirer. Personally, I do not think it will be of any use at all. I think his best method of tendering for the use of a ton lorry, involving 250 miles of running per week, is to charge either a definite figure of from JOW. to Is. a mile, or, what is approximately the same thing, from £11 to £13 a week.
A More Practical Proposition.
• The other example which I promised to discuss is one in which it might be that the ton-mile, considered as a basis for calculating charges, would be of some use. The problem involved in that inquiry was the cartage of tarmac from a central depOt to places which might be any distance between one and ten miles. The inquirer was using 4-ton lorries and 2-ton lorries, and wanted to be able to make a charge per ton. The difficulty here is the fairly obvious one that it is hard to assess an average day's work. In my reply, I took the average distance of five miles as being a fair basis for that average, although I admitted that it was very little more than a guess. I assumed ten minutes at each end for loading and unloading, and an average speed of 15 miles an hour. That made it passible to do eight journeys a day. I recommended a charge of 2s. 9d. per ton in the case of the 4-termer and 4s. id. in the case of the 2-tonner, leaving it to the inquirer himself to strike an average between those two prices in accordance with the numbers of each size of vehicle.
Now, in order te get an idea of the ton-mileage involved, we had better take as examples minimum and maximum journeys. If we take the one-mile trip, then it will be possible to do 16 trips a day. The total mileage in the case of each vehicle will be 32 per day, or 176 per week. The, total load carried will be 64 tons a day with the 4-tormer, 32 tons .a day with the 2tonner, and those figures also indicate the total useful ton-mileage.
In the ease of the 10-mile trip, 1 hr. 40 mins. will he necessary for each run out and home, which means that only four complete trips per day, or 22 trips per week, will be possible. The daily mileage would be 80 for each vehicle. The tonnage for the 44onner would be 16 per day and the ton-mileage 160. In the case of the 2-tonner the tonnage would be 8 per day and the ton-mileage 80.
• Considering the 4-ton vehicle only and taking the figure of 2s. 9d. per ton as applying, then the revenue from the one-mile trips would be £8 16s. a day, which, for 32 miles, is equivalent to 5s. 6d. per mile run. In the case of the 10-mile trips, the revenue is only. 16 times 2s. 9d., which is 12 4s. The mileage is 80, sp that this revenue is only equivalent to 6.6d. per mile. The minimum revenue for a vehicle doing 176 miles a week, as in the first case, should be. approximately 2s. a mile, so that the Cts. 6c1. which is obtained in that ease shows quite a reasonable profit. . In the other, however, 440 miles a week Is being coVered and the minim= revenue must he is. id. a mile. Obviously that, will not do. The only hope is that what is lost on the long-distance trips will be made up on the shortdistance ones and the snag is, as I pointed out in replying. to this correspondent, that there is no indication as to the proportion of mileage which Will be covered in each case.
Applying the Ton-mile Principle.
When I calculated the average figure of 2s. 9d. per ton I reckoned that it was possible to do eight trips per day, each trip of five miles out and home. The ton-mileage in that case would be 160 per day and the tonnage 32. In this instance, 2s. 9d. per ton is equivalent to a revenue of :f.4 8s. a day. If we divide that by the 160 ton-miles we find that it is equivalent to 6.6d per ton-mile. If this haulier is paid at the rate of 6.6d. per ton-mile, then his daily revenue when he is doing the one-mile trip with the 4-tonner will be 35s. 3d., as against £8 16s., a day. In the case of the ten-mile journey, when the ton-mileage is 160 the revenue would be £4 8s., as against £2 4s. The net result would 5e to make it much less profitable on the short' journeys and only just about a paying proposition on the long journeys.
Now, this is a case M which the ton-mile, is most likely actually to be of use. Its employment, however, involves somewhat intricate calculation and, in the end, although it is a fact that it makes the inequality as between short and long-distance journeys less extensive, it does not materially help the haulier in his price negotiations..
The Academic Meaning of the Term.
If I had been writing an academic article of the meaning of the term ton-mile, I should have commenced by pointing out that there are two ways in which it is commonly interpreted. There is what I call the academic one wherein, when calculating ton-mileage, the total weight of the vehicle plus the weight of its load, the weight of the driver, fuel and anything whatever that is being carried must be taken into consideration. In the case, for example, of a 4-ton lorry, weighing with body 4 tons, carrying a net load of 4 tons, a driver and assistant weighing 2* cwt., and sundry extras -Weighing another 1* cwt., the total weight for the purposes of calculating ton-mileage is 8 tons 4 cwt., or 8* tons. That is the way in which the 11.A.C. and similar bodies calculate ton-mileage when they are ascertaining the performance capabilities of heavy vehicles, because one of the matters up for judgment is then the efficiency of the engine. In like circumstances, the haulier is only concerned with the net useful load of 4 tons and, whereas, calculating according to the academic method, the ton-mileage over 10 miles would be ten times 8* tons, which is 82 ton-miles, the figure for the haulier would be ten times 4 tons, which is only 40 ton-miles. As this article is directed only to practical men whose concern is entirely with the second aspect of the matter, a prolonged discussion of the former is unnecessary. I mention it only to acknowledge its existence and to avoid misapprehension on the part of those readers not hauliers who are inclined to be carpingly critical and who might otherwise challenge not only my interpretation of the meaning of the term but my knowledge of the subject.