THE VALUE OF CALLING THE ROLL.
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An Interesting System Devised By An American Company.
ONE of the methods resorted to by a leading American company of commercial vehicle Makers in order to maintain the interest of customers is to compile an annual " roll-call." At the same time the extensive use of motor lorries and the importa.ot relation of transport to industrial and commercial growth is reveale' by the compilation which is kept by the White Motor Co.
At the beginning of this year 961 of the foremost lorry owners in the United States were operating 35,755 White vehicles in fleets of 10 or more, and virtually every line of business is represented -in the return. This tabulation shows an increase of 124 owners and 4,662 lorries and buses over last year's record. The Strides made in the use of motor lorries and of White vehicles in particular are apparent when it is recalled that the first rollcall, published jn. 1916, listed only 86 owners.
Many of the owners have had years of transportation experience, and many of them are still operating vehicles which are from 10 to 15 years old and have mileage records of from 200,000 to 500,000. The pioneer company on the list are Messrs. W. and 3. _Sloane, the well-known New York furniture and carpet merchants, who have used a fleet of Whites for 16 years. The company purchased their first lorry in 1910, and, although it has ran approximately 220,000 miles, it is still in operation. This particular vehicle is shown in the ilinstration appearing on this page. On the 1926 roll-Call there are 40 owners who operate in excess of 100 lorries each. There are 123 owners whose fleets total 50 or more each, whilst 319 owners operate 25 or more lorries. Three owners have fleets of more than 1,000 vehicles. The Gulf Refining Co. own the largest individual fleet with 1,929 White vehicles, the greatest single standardized lorry fleet in the world, and representing an investment of more than $6,000,000. The company have been users of this make of lorry since 1911.
Other large White fleet owners are the Assoviated Bell Telephone Corn
panics, with 1,420 vehicles; the Standard Oil Co., of New York, 1,032; the City of New York, 856; the Union Oil Co., of California, 780 the United States Post Office Department, 664; and the American Railway Express Co., 585. The roll-call represents less than one-half the number of this make of vehicle in service.