Off the Beaten Track

24th September 1954, Page 122

24th September 1954

Page 122

Page 122, 24th September 1954 — Off the Beaten Track

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CIVIL Servants must be pardoned their moments of wool-gathering, and whoever is responsible for framing the official policy on roads and road transport will find one of his daydreams come true if he visits Earls Court during the next few days. He will see the latest products of a splendid industry standing in rows immaculate, silent and not disturbing the peace of any road.

Not far away at Chobham there will be another display in which military vehicles will demonstrate how unnecessary it is to have highways at all. For the time being the visitor to either show will find it easy to forget the road problem. If he is honest with himself, the awakening will bring a new awareness of the handicaps the commercial-vehicle manufacturers suffer as a result of the neglect of the roads.

The manufacturer in his capacity as tradesman understands clearly that his welfare depends in the long run on the health and prosperity of his customers and he can see equally clearly how the customers have to struggle against the inertia of official policy. The last of the productivity reports by British teams of investigators in the United States includes a number of recommendations intended to apply over the whole range of industry but having, or so it seems to me, particular relevance to road transport.

Among those characteristics of the American economy that it_ should be possible to transplant to the United Kingdom, the report gives pride of place to the "sharp and urgent competitiveness." Other important points are the freer supplies of finance for, capital investment, the lower impact ot taxation, the " non-stratification " of society, and high wages.

Competition the Spur

Competition in road transport has been largely restored by the 1953 Transport Act and it continues unabated in the vehicle manufacturing industry. "It is our opinion," says the report of the productivity team, "that, more than any other factor, competition provides the drive for the more frequent analysis of costs and the application of industrial engineering techniques in the United States, and the constant effort to achieve the most economic usage of men, materials, machines and money." On this point, I Would suggest, neither vehicle manufacturers nor operators in this country have much to learn from America.

Reference to capital investment immediately calls to mind the roads, on which no Government can be proud of their record. Only the roads fail to get better in these days of a rapidly expanding economy. Production rises and, according to the statistics, so does productivity. Retail prices are rising and wages keep pace with them. The manufacturers are making more vehicles, and the recent census shows that the vehicles are being put to more use. The number operating under C licences gets each day a little closer to a million.

The Government have made a small beginning to a programme of road development but the Treasury are releasing not nearly enough money if the task is to be completed within, say, the present century. The sponsors of capital investment in the form of a road loan have pressed their point so far without success. Another suggestion is that, however ambitious the gramme, it could easily be paid for out of the ar proceeds of special taxation on road users. At present rate fuel tax and licensing fees in a few y time will be sufficient to pay the proposed I:500m. annually. In addition, the road users pay purchasi and other levies, including rates that are made ot community generally.

, As part of its proposals on taxation, the product report recommends revision of tax allowance depreciation to enable more rapid writing down of p Assuming that this proposal includes vehicles, it w be of assistance to the manufacturers as well as a to operators. The expanding transport industry c provide for greater purchase of new vehicles, obviate the occasional complaints, for example, tha much money is being diverted to the purchas transport units.

Top of the Pyramid

Disposal, at any rate, is helping to avoid any pos criticism of " non-stratification" in the road hat industry. It is a paradox that nationalization tend( separate the various classes of worker from each o The driver was not encouraged to take an intere such matters as finding traffic, and between him an British Transport Commission at the top of the pyr; were interposed several layers. He made contact, all, through the group, the district, the division am Road Haulage Executive. Under free enterprise, w the unit is so much smaller, the driver can usually e: lish a direct personal relationship with his employer Wages, the last item in the catalogue of productivity team, are possibly somewhat less in transport than in other industries taken as a whole. survey by the Ministry of Labour of employmer industry at the end of July revealed that the avc weekly earnings for male manual workers at 21 ! of age and over was £9 I7s. 8d. for a working we 48.3 hours. This is much better than the results o: survey conducted by the Road Haulage Associa showing an average wage of £9 8s. 7d. for drivers vs ing an average of 54.3 hours for each of the four Ns in March.

The comparison was not exact, for the drivers incl those under 21. The latest increase of 3s., assur it is approved, will also reduce the difference bet' the two figures. Earnings may rise rapidly because shortage of labour; evidence of which on the passe side is provided by the accusations from ce municipal undertakings that workers are being di elsewhere by the promise of payments above the at scale.

On balance, road transport is doing what is ca meet the standards put forward in the last of the pro tivity reports. There is ample competition and rela

with the workers are good. Improvement on remaining points is largely in the hands of the autl ties. It is appropriate this week to stress particu that the removal of handicaps from road tram cannot fail to benefit the vehicle manufacturers w achievements are winning admiration not only in country but all over the world.