SIR. Talks About Furniture Removal
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Thursday of last week, S.T.R. $a..ar( The C ornmercial Motor costs expert), in addressing members of the Institute of the Furniture, Warehousing and Removing Industry, told them that in his view there was, for the time being, at least, no good purpose to be served by the issue of an arbitrary schedule of recommended rates. The defect in any such procedure, be said, was that the rank and file of the industry, being without proper means for checking such rates and, as to most of them, having been in the habit of operating for charges less than those scheduled, they would disregard the recommended rates and continue their present practice of cutting rates as a method of getting business.
lie felt sure that all those present would agree that that was something to be avoided. The only way to avoid it, he suggested, was to deal with the matter in a fundamental way, to indicate to those in the industry the proper method of calculating what rates should be, and to instruct them in the use of basic facts and figures.
He agreed that the furniture industry was different from most branches of road haulage, having special and peculiar characteristics of its own, particularly low annual Mileages and limitation of average • number of hours which vehicles could be worked per week. At the same time, the principle of rates assessment was unaffected by these considerations. Any rate should be calculated on the basis of vehiclecost plus establishment-charges plus (in the case of furniture removing) wages of porters and packers, plus profit. He demonstrated the meaning of the foregoing by setting out figures relating to these items in respect of 1,0004,200-cubic ft. vans and, having given average figures, cited typical examples for local and long-distance furniture removal, quoting rates calculated on the basis of the fundamental figures he suggested.
A long and interesting discussion followed.
There was some argument as to the basis of depreciation and as to whether, in S.T.R.'s figures for establishment cost, provision had been made for loss of use of a vehicle when disabled, possibly some distance from headquarters. This, apparently, is rarely covered by insurance, so .far as furniture removers are concerned.
S.T.R. was asked to quote for a further example . of long-distance haulage and it subsequently .ber:ame apparent that the results of his calculations in •all cases were very close to some which the Institute of the Furniture Warehousing and Removing Industry itself had alMost agreed upon at a meeting the previous day.