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MIDLAND TRADERS WANT BALANCED COMPETITION

26th November 1954
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Page 46, 26th November 1954 — MIDLAND TRADERS WANT BALANCED COMPETITION
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

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BALANCED COMPETITION

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am n Views of Traders and s in the Black Country on irse of Denationalization and rture Outlook for Private ?rprise in Road Transport

r P. A. C. Brockington, A.M.I.Mech.E.

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N the opinion of many Midland traders and .hauliers,. the Black Country—Birmingham—Coventry area will

be chosen by the British Transport Commission to be the operational centre of British Road Services after denationalization,, with the 3,500 vehicles which they can retain under the 1953 Act, or po.ssibly with a larger fleet later sanctioned by an amendment to the Act. Much of the goods produced in the area forms small consignments for long-distance delivery and the type of traffic is admirably suited to the facilities that B.R.S. possess.

• It is also significant that it is impossible, by a comparatively small margin, for the driver of a vehicle restricted to 20 m.p.h. to complete the return journey to London in a day without breaking the law, which is a serious handicap to the small haulier. Theiecent news that the Ministry of Transport will shortly increase the staff of enforcement officers has been generally noted. . :fudging by the majority opinion of a representative cross-section of traders who send upwards of 50 tons a week by long-distance road transport, the description

admirable" is, in fact, applicable to the B.R.S. service in the district, but some qualify this praise with the comment that only since denationalization started could it be compared with that offered by private hauliers before nationalization. One trader, asked for his views on the progress of denationalization, said: "It won't be any good until the big boys come back. We want competition between private enterprise and a B.R.S. fleet of an appropriate size. When this was repeated to other traders most of them replied, "Exactly."

Only one trader was willing that his name and the name of his concern should be quoted, and, as over• 1,Q00 torts of crated goods leave the premises by road every week, his opinion should be given in full, "Before nationalization, the large private-enterprise companies in the Coventry area gave an excellent service; they could be relied. upon to provide a sufficient number of vehicles of the right type.at the right time to handle our traffi,c, which is all portwise.: Since then the volume of traffic ha.s greatly. increased and a direct comparison with the present service given by B.R.S. cannot be made, • but theirs is a wonderful service-"

a12 . This. represents the view of Mr. E. L. Claridge, managing director of the Motor Packing Co., Ltd., Torrington Avenue, Coventry, who handle upwards of 200 tons a day. The goods comprise cars, vehicle parts and allied equipment, which mainly form bulk loads for dispatch to ports throughout the country.

Mr. Claridge recognizes that transport is in a transitional stage. He states that with their present facilities, private-enterprise hauliers cannot cope with bulk toads and he sees no prospect of an improvement until large concerns are re-established in the .industry.

"The trouble with private enterprise at the moment," says Mr. Claridge, is that it is not the slightest bit enterprising," but he qualifies this statement with the observation that hauliers have been unable to provide the types of vehicle suitable to carry his traffic.

The terms on which "interested parties" will be willing to purchase the large B.R.S. units is a subject which provokes thoughtful and sometimes wild speculation arnong all sections of the transport community. it is the large question mark hanging over everyone's forecasts and plans. There are many small hauliers who regard the return of the large companies with the same antagonism that they viewed the prospect of nationalization. Although it would be unrealistic to disregard the question mark, the views of go-ahead hauliers who have purchased small units merit unbiased consideration. Their present success or failure may influence industrialists, financiers and politicians.

Last May, Morton's (Coventry), Ltd., Coventry, purchased a'B.R.S. unit comprising two Commer 8-ton articulated outfits, powered by Perkins oil engines, two Commer QX 7-ton lorries and a Commer QX 7-ton-van. The vehicles were in good mechanical condition.

The fleet now numbers 74 trailer outfits and lorries, Which, apart from the long-distance vehicles, are employed under C-hiring, A-contract, B and C licences and one A licence. Facilities at the company's premises include a loading bank equipped with electric hoist gear.

Immediately the ex-B.R.S. vehicles were ready for service in July, Mr. G. W. Mousley, the transport manager, and his assistant, Mr. E. Shortland, paid a series of visits to other hauliers with special A licences in. Newcastle upon Tyne, Hull, London, Liverpool, Southampton, and other centres with the object of arranging inter-working systems. All the concern's long-distance vehicles are now fully employed and the potential traffic is described as "limitless."

By virtue of an inter-working arrangement with concerns in Newcastle upon Tyne, it was possible to obtain all the traffic to this centre of a large motor manufacturer, with an average of about 30 tons a day, and inter-working arrangements are being extended. In Mr. Mousley's opinion, inter-working offers the only means for providing sufficient vehicle-availability to meet all contingencies if the number of long-distance vehicles of a concern is limited. He criticizessome other private hauliers for not establishing a route on this basis before haphazardly accepting goods for any part of the country.

Mr. MousIey and Mr. Shortland speak highly of B.R.S. service in the district, particularly the usefulness

of their teleprinter system and booking methods, but say that private enterprise will give even better facilities.

A trader in Birmingham who employs B.R.S. to move 500 tons a week to destinations throughout the country, highly commends the service, but says "it is not quite as good as I used to get from private hauliers with 40 or so machines who handled our traffic regionally. One misses the personal contact with a manager who knows exactly what is happening and with drivers who know the routes and the traffic inside out. The 40-vehicle company is the best size."

"What trader will deny," asks Mr. A. R. Butt, managing director of the Morris Transport Co., Ltd., Sutton Coldfield, "that already a gingering-up' of road transport has taken place despite the small units and poor vehicles generally offered by B.R.S.? This is not the time to arrange a compromise with B.R.S. Co-ordination of 'services is not the prerogative of the B.T.C. Many of the businesses taken over were working under reciprocal arrangements and the buyers of larger units will undoubtedly do the same."

The formation of companies in which B.R.S. would have an interest is a possibility that is either hotly opposed or acCepted resignedly by hauliers and is regarded with tentative approval by many traders. In Mr. Butt's opinion, "to subscribe to the formation of what are now termed fifty-fifty companies would ensure that road transport again became a monopoly."

It would appear to be a condition of any support given by trade and industry to the creation of companies in which B.R.S. retained an interest or control, that a14

every company should make a profit or sell out to the highest bidder. Only -in this way, it is considered by some traders who support the present Government, could transport be removed from politics. They admit that those who might be willing to finance private operators in the purchase of large B.R.S.units are apprehensive lest the Labour party should carry out their threat of renationalization if they were returned to power, but this fear does not appear to be so prevalent in towns as it is in country districts.

The vehicles in the Morris Transport fleet of 15 include 12 articulated units with capacities up to 20 tons, 11 of the tractors bei-ng capable of hauling semi-trailers which are interchangeable and can, therefore, be used for any type of traffic within the tonnage range. The largest vehicle is an ex-B.R.S. unit, and all are fully employed. Mr. Butt states that he has lost count of the tenders made.

The complaint that B.R.S. services are being dislocated by the disposal of vehicles is made by the transport manager of a Black Country concern producing large quantities of tubes. About 80 per cent, of the consignments leaving the works are under a ton, and the readiness of hauliers to accept such traffic for a variety of destinations is normally a condition of hire. Although hauliers now offer a slightly better service than B.R.S. for the transport of selected full loads, they are said often to refuse small loads, and he considers that it would be uneconomic and unfair to give the-n even a substantial _proportion of the traffic,

The development of an eight-wheeler mentality among hauliers and ridiculous rate-cutting are the outstanding features of the present stage of denationalization, according to Mr. T. Baker, chairman of the West Midland Area of the Road Haulage Association and a director of T. Baker and Sons (Transport), Ltd., Oldbury, and A. and T. Underhill, Ltd., an associated concern. In Mr. Baker's view traders are entitled to a reasonable reduction in rates because of the haulier's lower overheads, but cuts of 25 per cent, are ridiculous and threaten the stability of the industry. Low rates recently introduced by B.R.S. foster rate-cutting by hauliers.

T. Baker and Sons (Transport), Ltd., also operate an RI.A.-approved clearing house.

Included in the combined fleet of the two, concerns are five Vulcan 7-tonners and two Bedford 8-10-ton articulated outfits purchased from B.R.S., the addition of which increased the total number of vehicles to 30. The long-distance harries operate on specialized Government work and on the transport of crated pant to the ports, formerly carried by the State undertaking.

When asked to give the trader's attitude towards ratecutting, an exporter told me that he expected hauliers to reduce rates by 5-10 per cent. compared with those quoted by B.R.S. a few months ago. In his view, there are comparatively few traders who are exploiting offers of larger cuts; to do so would be "inviting inefficiency."

The same exporter has transferred practically all his traffic to private-enterpriSt concerns because -they provide a slightly better service at a slightly lower rate.

Nevertheless, FIRS. have, in his opinion, taught the industry a great deal, particularly with regard to dock traffic and the use of radio equipment, and on/some routes, he states, they are unbeatable. He points out that the increasing use of maximum-load vehicles creates financial difficulties for many small hauliers.

Another haulier who watches rate-cutting with alarm is Mr. G. D. C. Ostroumoff, a director of Dolton Transport, Ltd., Redditch, and of Jonson's Transport, an associated concern, who handle traffic from Birmingham and the Black Country, as well as goods from the immediate locality. Mr. Ostrournoff emphasizes the danger of "too many vehicles carrying too few goods," which is being encouraged, he claims, by the disposal of large numbers of redundant B.R.S. vehicles. In many instances, the local depot at which •the vehicles for disposal were temporarily based have continued their services with an unimpaired fleet.

The combined Dolton-Jonson fleet comprises 25 vehicles, of which 12 are ex-B.R.S. lorries operating with special A licences. These include two Leyland 15-tonners and one A.E.C. eight-wheeler, two Vulcan 7-tonners, an A.E.C. and a Leyland of 7-8-ton capacity, an A.E.C. 7-ton van and three Austin 6-tonners. The vehicles are reasonably suited to the traffic available, but Mr. Ostrournoff regards his own case as an isolated one; he points out that many hauliers have purchased a number of unsuitable lorries to obtain one or two of the type required.

A manufacturer of agricultural machines and a concern producing fragile auxiliary components for prime movers, the heaviest of which is 3 tons, say that the services of B.R.S. are efficient and that the incidence of breakage or damage is commendably low. The first company regularly but intermittently requires as many as 20 lorries in a day for the transport of machines to the docks. The services of hauliers have been used, but they were unreliable and accounting was complicated by the large number of concerns involved. B.R.S. service for this traffic has improved since denationalization started and rates have been reduced.

Good service was taken for granted by the component manufacturer before nationalization and has since been obtained from the State undertaking, particularly with regard to careful handling of the equipment and delivery on time. The transport manager of the concern says, however, that he misses the personal service given by the drivers of private-enterprise companies.

Private Enterprise Wanted The number and diversity of traders using a parcels service provides an investigator with such a multitude of " explorable avenues" that any attempt to present the views of a typical cross-section in the present transitionary stage would be suspect. Many traders are well satisfied with the B.R.S. parcels service, but it is equally certain that a large number welcomes the extension of facilities offered by private enterprise.

With the addition of nine ex-B.R.S. vehicles with special A licences, the fleet of Collins Express Parcels, Ltd., based on a main operating centre at Walsall Wood, Birmingham, has been increased to a total of 71 petrolengined vans. With inter-working arrangements with concerns in London and Manchester, the service has been extended beyond the limit of regular running before nationalization. The radius was then about 55 miles, which should later be re-established for the bulk of the fleet.

' The long-distance vehicles mainly comprise Guy, Morris-Commercial, Bedford and Austin 5-tonners, and are employed on the carriage of goods in the normal category of 80 packages to a ton. The total traffic carried by the fleet averages from 8,000 to 10,000 packages a day.

According to Mr. C. Collins, demands on him by traders to take over traffic from B.R.S. become more pressing every day and he attributes this to an appreciation of free-enterprise flexibility and personal attention, and an assurance that the goods will be handled expertly. The ability of the office staff to give immediate proof of delivery is often of great value to the trader.

Although bulk flour and grain represent a specialized traffic of a type for which there is unlikely to be keen competition between private enterprise and B.R.S., Mr. V. J. Pike, of Messrs. V. J. Pike Transport, Coventry, claims that denationalization offers hauliers in this field the opportunity of raising the efficiency of their service without increasing rates. The concern have operated five ex-B.R.S. platform lorries since February (three Maudslay 7i-tonners and a 12-Wittier of the same make) and more recently an Atkinson 15-tonner with a special A licence transferred from another operator.

These were added to a B-licence fleet of two bulkcontainer 15-tonners of Leyland and Foden_ manufacture, a Leyland 15-ton platform lorry, a Foden 12-tonner, a Bedford 10-ton articulated outfit and three 5-tonners of Austin and Commer manufacture. In two years the fleet has been increased from 6 to 15 vehicles and two further eight-wheelers are on order. It is estimated that 12 additional vehicles, would be necessary to satisfy the demands from millers and merchants.

Specialized Service for Grain Grain is collected at farms for delivery to silos and later to buffer depots, from which it is eventually transferred to various mills. All the drivers are specialists in loading and unloading. Agricultural produce is also carried by the B-licence lorries.

The use of A-licence vehicles has enabled the fleet. to be more fully, employed by adding machinery, processed foodstuffs and so on to the traffic.

The traffic manager of one of the largest companies in, the Midland industrial area, who produce a great variety of component parts and finished equipment of all kinds, could not find sufficient superlatives to describe the services provided by the State undertaking.

The concern's goods are carried at special rates which are far lower, in many instances, than railway charges or those offered by hauliers, particularly with regard to small consignments to out-of-the-way places. Goods are collected at night by drivers who are well known to the company's staff and who are experienced in the type of traffic carried. Damage is negligible.

After hearing such praise I was not surprised, when I later talked to B.R.S. officials, that they appeared confident that the Commission would retain a fleet "of appropriate size" to meet the needs of industry. A few days later I discussed such a possibility with Mr. R. A. Mills, transport manager of the Shenstone Transport Co., Ltd., Tyseley, Birmingham.

This company's fleet was a 30-vehicle B.R.S. unit and was purchased with premises. A daily service to London and the north-west has been operated for the past six months. The fleet corresponds to that which was nationalized, and consists of lorries and articulated outfits of 5-ton to 10-ton capacity.

Mr. Mills has all the traffic he can deal with and is confident that the success already achieved is only a beginning, despite competition from an admittedly efficient State organization. Shenstone Transport is one of a group of 24 companies, with an aggregate fleet of over 200 vehicles.


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