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THE HAULIERS' INQUIRE WITHIN.

27th May 1924, Page 27
27th May 1924
Page 27
Page 28
Page 27, 27th May 1924 — THE HAULIERS' INQUIRE WITHIN.
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Concluding Article of Series on Furniture Removal : Costs and Charges.

IN A previous article I dealt with some of the points which the haulier should bear in mind when quoting for a job of furniture removing. I did not deal with the question of costs of operation or the estimation of remunerative charges. • These are matters with which. I can now deal after having discussed the types and sizes of vehicle which are most likely to he employed on this class of work.

Any estimate must include references to both time and distance, as delays at terminals are, of course, quite 'unavoidable in this business. In consequence, when distances are oomparatively great, the mileage item will predominate. When the distances are not great, it will be a secondary consideration only, On very short runs the mileage .is negligible, and the charge practically relates to time only. The esti-: mateiof costs will have to include the wages of furniture removers as well as the expense of operating the lorry. Where the distances are such as to involve the vehicle and its personnel in being away from home for one or more evenings, allowance will have to be made in the estimate for the expense of their accommodation.

Where Our Figures of Running Costs Prove Valuable.

The cost of operation of both steam and petrol vehicles of all sizes was given in detail in a special number of 77te Commerci;a2 Motor which was published on November 27th of last year. Corrections on account of the increase in the cost of petrol were made in a supplementary article which, with tables, appeared in our issue for February 12th of this year. A 5-ton steamer costs, in mind figures, £6 los. a week, say, 26s. a day, to keep, in addition tri Bid. a. mile for running costs. The daily figure includes the wages of the driver and a portion of the wages of his mate. Presuming that both driver and mate will help in loading and unloading the furniture arid in the work of removal generally, they will, in company with an expert remover as charge-hand, . be able to look after the job of removing one vanload of furniture. The wages of the expert, together with the balance of the mate's wages, will amount approximately to 15s. a day. The overhead or establishment charges in connection with the business will be about 7s. 6d. a day, and it is anticipated that the proprietor will expect about £1 a day profit. This brings the total daily charge up to IS 8s. 6d. A fair limit of mileage for a day's run is 25 out and home...; at a pinch 30 miles could be accomplished, but 20 miles is nearer the mark if the work is to be got through tomfortablY in a day, and this condition applies more strictly in the case of a steam wagon, Which requires more attention, morning and evening, than does a petrol vehicle. The actual cost of running the distance at 80. a mile will be about 15s. ; this, added to £3 Ss. td., gives R4 3s. td., or, say, four guineas for the contract.

Extra Costs when a Trailer is Used.

If the load is more than can be accommodated in a single van, then use must be made of a trailer. This will involve an extra half-crown a day phis 21d. a mile, or from 8s. td. to 10s., According to circumstances. Another man will be required, at a wage of, say, a further 10s., whilst the proprietor will be justified in expecting a further 5s. or so as profit to compensate him for his outlay on the trailer. This brings the charge for a double load up to £5 30s. If a petrol vehicle is used, the total charges will be about the same, the costs not being any less, although they are made up in a slightly different. way. The standing charges of a 5-ton petrol lorry amount to very nearly £6 a week, or 24s. a day ; the cost per mile is 81-cl., and it should be remarked that the standing charges do not include any allowance for the wages of a driver's mate. The difference, therefore, brought about by this condition will disappear when provision is Made, as it will be necessary for an extra man to assist in the removing.

I should here mention, as I have many times before in similar articles, that the charges enumerated are the least possible compatible with a reasonable expectation of profit. It is more than likely that in the case of two-van loads the contractor will be able to obtain considerably more than the sum mentioned above, since his prices will naturally be expected by his customers to vary more or less in proportion to the bulk of furniture whichhas to be removed. Probably six or six and a half guineas would be, on that basis, obtainable for a two-van load, and the extra profit on such a contract would serve as a set-off against the rather meagre margin which is all that can be got, in the majority of eases, on a single vanload.

Removals over slightly greater distances can he effected in one day at the expense of overtime, for which, of course, appropriate charges must be made; in addition to those outlined above.

If the total distance out and home exceeds 30 miles— or, at the most, 35 miles—it Will be impossible to effect the removal of even a single vanload in one day, and certainly out of the question even to attempt to do so if the load necessitates the employment of a trailer. In the case of a single vanload; the estimate for a two-day trip can be calculated as follows .— Four pounds for standing charges, wages, cost of board for men and aceommodatiou of lorry. ThirtyfiVe miles, charged at 10d. a mile, will amount practically to. 30s. ; then there are establishment casts and profits, amounting to £2 15s. or £3, and the total, with allowance of 30s. for 'contingencies arising Item the fact that the vehicle is away from home, is 29.

The •maximum mileage for a two-day trip with a single van would be about 100; the additional charge for the 65 miles over and above the 35 miles named in the last estimate would be about 55s., bringing the charge up to 211 15s.-Tsay, £12.

A two-van load naturally occupies more time both in loading and unloading and on the road. On the Toad it is slower, and the maximum. mileage per day is considerably less than that possible with a single ve.hiele. With a lorry and trailer the maximum for a day trip would be 20 miles, and for two days 60

The Time TalCen Up by Loading and Unloading.

The mileage possible on this class of work increases rapidly as the nurdber of days for the job increases. During two days practically half the time is spent loading and unloading, and the other half in travelling. In three days two-thirds of the time is available for mileage. A. single van can, therefore, do a job, including 30 miles of running,. in a day, one involving 100 miles of vunning in two days and one entailing 200 miles in three days. A simple way of

estimating the charges would be to take for the first day and 24 for each day after, adding ls. a mile to that ; thus, a single day trip, inVolving 30 miles, would be charged at the rate of £4 10s. ; two days, involving 50 miles,' £9 10s., which is made up as follows :—.23 for the first day, £4for the second and 50s. (22 10s.) for the mileage. A two-day job involving 100 miles would, in the same way, cost 212. A three-day job' should be cha-rged at .211 plus is. a mile as before. On a 120-mile run the charge would, therefore, be £17, and for 200 miles a total of 221.

'With a wagon and trailer, allowance has to be made for theextra cost of running, as well as for the . extra wages and accommodation. For round figures, take 24 a day for the first day and £5 each for subsequent days, charging 1s. 3d. a mile. This :makes the charge, for a day's work covering a dis 'tance' of 20' Miles, five guineas. This, as I have already suggested, might reasonably be increased on the basis of a .chaige in proportion to services rendered, and without necessarily bearing any direct Telation to actual costs. For a two-day trip involv jug, say, 50 miles, the price would be 212 5s., and for a three-day trip and 100 miles 117.5s. A 200mile trip for a two-van load would take five days, and should 5, rated at not less than £30.

When the load is such as to demand the use of three vans, the procedure to be followed will depend upon circumstances. .If the distance is short the best thing to do is to load up both lorry and trailer, sun to destination, unload the lorry, and run back again with a couple of men for the balance of the load, leaving two men to continue unloading the trailer. For a longer journey, in which this course is not perhaps practicable, the services of a spare lorry may be requisitioned. One method -frequently -adopted in connection with long-distance runs is to make use of a spare lift body. This is loaded first with those items of the load which 'are least in request by the householder, and that partieular body is promptly put on rail and consigned to the statien nearest its ultimate destination. Meantime, the lorry and trailer are loaded in the ordinary way and make the journey by road. On arrivalat the other end of the trip the lorry is unloaded first and run back to the station, where its empty body is put on rail and returned. It collects the full body, takes a to the house, where it is Unloaded,and both lorry and trailer return in the ordinary Way by road. The costs and charges for work of this nature will vary so much, according to the individual nature of each example, that it would be quite impossible to deal with thern all. I am at all times pleased, of course, to deal with dirent inquiries of this nature as in any other of direct interesttci hauliers: A Sphere of Activity for which the-Petrol. Vehicle is Best Suited.

When a man is not in a-large way of business he will 'naturally use the one vehicle whether his johs are long or short-distance ones. If he is so circumstanced as to involve a considerable percentage of, short runs, then' I strongly advise him to choose' a petrol vehicle in preference to steam, as it will never pay to get up steam in a steain wagon for a day's run involving from five to ten miles of running. If, on the other hand, his business is of such dimensions as to enable him to keep his big steam or petrol wagon reasonably well employed on long-distance work, he will do well to supplement it by a small tractor of the Austin or Fordson type to accomplish his short-distance work. With two trailers a machine of this type is satisfactory for runs of ten miles or so, and, by loading and taking one trailer and then returning for the second, can easily complete a two-van job in a day.

A Fordsou thus employed will cost about 25s. a day to keep, plus 4id. net per mile. A reasonable

charge would be at the rate of from 10s. to fa for a single vanload and £5 to £5 10s. for a two-van load,. provided that the work can -be carried out in a single working day. THE SKOTCE.

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Locations: Austin, Fordson

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