Mid East plea
Page 47
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With reference to Middle East transport : I wish your magazine would print an article on the other aspects of the Middle East run.
This run is not that much worse than any Continental or home run, apart from the fact it is a long way in case of breakdowns. You can be attacked by locals in London's East End, Cardiff dock area or Glasgow ; in fact in any large town at night, you can find " things " missing from your lorry.
We are having this country's financial status thrown at us every minute of the day ; surely when we sell our transport abroad we are helping our country, and you as the foremost magazine for the transport industry should back this Middle East venture to the hilt and give operators some hope.
With regards to " cowboys " you will find that if you do a little research the biggest cowboy is the agent. A transport firm should receive about £3,500 to £4,000 for a trip to the Middle East ; out of this he pays his own ferries, insurance, etc, and supplies his own trailer. From this you can easily work out payments for traction only, etc.
I can advise operators if they are offered less than this to refuse it. These agents will not survive long. The operator should also secure 50 per cent on pick-up and 50 per cent within 14 days after arrival in the Middle East and not after arriving back into this country.
The type of agent who does not conform to these standards is the man who keeps an owner-driver a cowboy and not as he should be, a profit-making transport contractor.
As for rate-cutting, the bigger offenders are the National Freight Companies who will often operate at cut-price rates which do not help them or road haulage.
We are engineers, sales and shipping agents for the Middle East.
M. E. HAINES,
Chepstow Marine Services Co Ltd,
Gwent.
[We sent our Deputy Editor overland to the Middle East with the object of writing a "how it should be done" article for intending operators. The fact that, in reporting the facts, it turned out to be more of a "how it should not be done" series of articles is perhaps even more helpful in the long run.—Ed.)