Rates squeezed to the limit
Page 9
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
• Irish haulage firm John Breen of Enniscorthy, Co Wexford, has been Forced to cut rates by 5% and 10% to keep Iwo major customers happy, following demands from the clients' accountants.
"Everybody is busier with the booming economy but the margins are being squeezed," says Breen. "The clients want to pay less because they say they're cutting costs. And the first place they look is haulage."
He adds that while diesel costs have not risen in line with inflation, drivers' wages hove escalated because of a continuing shortage.
And for Breen that means a wage bill rise in recent months of £900 per week—or 25%----and that was before the demands for rate cuts.
"Haulage rates are in the doldrums," says Breen. "They are definitely not index-linked. But it's a highly competitive business and an open market with some operators prepared to work at any rate. So we have to compete."
John Breen has diversified his 14-truck fleet into groupage in the past year because of low general haulage margins. 0 Dublin truckers called off a threatened two-clay withdrawal of services due to start on Monday of this week Following an emergency meeting of the IRHA's Dublin Branch. The hauliers claim conditions in the port have not improved substantially since the June '97 blockade. A meeting to review progress will be held on 4 October after the IRFIA and the shippers' organisations have had discussions.