Uneasy Neighbours
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for Yorkshire Hauliers
Changes that have Followed Denationalization in the Industrial Areas have Created some Anxiety Among Established Operators By Ashley Taylor
A.M.I.R.T.E. THE tradition that says Yorkshiremen are " close " about their business affairs is perhaps less true than it was in former times. Nevertheless, my endeavours to gather impressions of the effects of denationalization in the County of Broad Acres have not been quite so succcessful as in other areas.
Talking with businessmen in Sheffield, Leeds and Bradford one gains the feeling that changes in road transport have brought nothing but good to industry in general. Many hauliers, however, have singularly little to say about their own progress.
This state of affairs could be attributed either to fears of impending disaster or a desire to prevent others from cashing in on what have proved to be lucrative preserves. My diagnosis is that a little of each enters into the situation.
Although some hauliers admit to doing well, certain rather curious transactions have taken place in the Yorkshire industrial districts in recent months; with the result that a few operators may feel that they have little of which to boast in public.
Voluble in Denouncement
Leaving this situation aside, however, in the road transport world today there are always those who are voluble regarding the wrongdoings of others—." wrongdoing" that frequently turns out to take some quite proper form of free enterprise.
Road transport in central Yorkshire has undergone an upheaval during the past year. Large numbers of vehicles and, so it is said, a relatively larger number of special A licences, have changed hands, but the statement about licences is manifestly difficult to confirm.
Generally speaking, there has been no lack of traffic, although some operators complain of difficulties in obtaining remunerative rates. In an area of so diverse a character it would be surprising to find complete unanimity over denationalization.
Traffic Disappears
I am told of traffic that has disappeared from the open market because commercial organizations working into the territory have acquired control of units which have been used to carry their own goods in one direction and to offer attractive terms for suitable and regular return loads, Although competition of this nature is to be expected undee free enterprise, there is little doubt that there are some sore hearts among those who previously had half promises of steady work and now cannot find other jobs that will satisfactorily fill their particular bills.
certain parts of the area few of the old hauliers appear to have returned to road transport, the bulk of units having Nilo purchased by existing operators aNIF added to their fleets. In other localities returns to the industry have been numerous. There are, of course, newcomers, and in some cases they have acquired vehicles on assignment, c 10 paying heavily for them in the process.
A few weeks ago, special A licences could, according to Maj. F. S. Eastwood, Yorkshire Licensing Authority, be purchased for £1,200. Mr. A. Robertson, Scottish Deputy Licensing Authority, also said so.
Possibly special A licences can still be purchased at that price. Leaving aside the rights and wrongs, some of which have been stressed at Road Haulage Association meetings, that figure suggests a more attractive bargain than has been achieved by some buyers of these assets which change hands with such bewildering swiftness. A sum of £3.000 was quoted for a 17year-old maximum-load vehicle; one could hardly rate the price askedfor the licence at less than £2.000.
For the man who has tried to set up on his own account on a slender margin, such things can spell disaster.
A special A licence, plus a new vehicle to replace a museum piece, paid for by instalments, may give even the novice a fairly firm guide to his basic outgoings. An old vehicle, plus licence. plus the cost of rebuilding or replacement, can present the business possibilities of a particular district in a very different light.
Not every newcomer is going to recognize the signs. The process of adjustment 10 new conditions is sometimes painful not only for the individual concerned, but also for his neighbours.
Danger for All
One well-established operator, who has been confronted with competition from a new organization, told me that he had every sympathy with a man trying to make his way in the world. Speaking of his new neighbour, he said, "I hope that he will be successful, because if he isn't it will probably be the worse for all of us."
The individual in question would appear to have purchased a unit on assignment and then to have replaced a near-derelict vehicle by a modern one.
" All this is on the instalment system." said my informant, "and it might be argued that no man with such heavy commitments could possibly afford to cut rates. Financial stringency at the time that payments fall due, however, drives even the hard-headed into risky procedure.
" The special rate which was to attract the customer and provide an escape from a situation of difficulty becomes the accepted figure for the job. I am frankly uneasy about the situation and would be far happier were my nearest competitor someone with sub stantial backing. The operator who spends his life balancing on a tightrope doesn't hurt only himself when he falls off."
Are Yorkshire hauliers being fleeced? Some of my contacts have suggested that, in a number of instances, such is the case. Of course, dealing in units goes on in every traffic area, hut it seems strange that in Yorkshire, where businessmen pride themselves on their acumen, the known prices should have reached up to the stars.
There have been shocks when it has proved impossible to transfer the base of activities from places where a service has been provided in the past by British Road Services to territories that have appeared more lucrative. There are grounds for believing that here and there ex-drivers and others have already discovered that being the boss is not all it was cracked up to be.
Although in respect of some commodities the railways have been lying low for a while, there would be nothing surprising in the opening of a new attack in certain valuable fields which, in turn, might give rise to intensified competition within wider limits.
In haulage it is sometimes only too apparent that half the operating world has little idea how the other half lives. Within a few miles of each other two experienced men, whose honesty I unhesitatingly accept, express diametrically opposed opinions on vital matters.
One says, "There's no rate war round here—only a fear of rate-cutting." The other: " Rate-cutting is the most serious problem denationalization has brought in its train." The Yorkshire industrial area is a big place, however, and both statements may be in a large measure a true representation of the experiences of the individuals concerned.
Established operators whose men enjoy good conditions were, I found, caustic in their criticism of those lawbreakers who habitually secure an unfair advantage by running vehicles at excessive speeds and working crews for excessive hours.
Customers Satisfied
In Sheffield, Leeds and Bradford there is evidence that industrial concerns are well satisfied with the way matters are shaping. Among hauliers in the Woollen District there has for long appeared a readiness to accept the small consignments with the large and, both here and in Sheffield, I have sensed a high degree of local co-operation directed at serving the public.
Back in the war years, good work was done in the Sheffield area in the setting up of agreed rates for longdistance and day work, the figures being approved by the principal steel organizations and by the hauliers. This liaison was continued under peace-time conditions by industry, by B.R.S. and by the independent operators, and the establishment of a standard of this nature usually gives stability to rates.
I have encountered a variety of transport operators and, whilst not attempting anything in the way of a " directory," I will quote some of the many who have crossed my path.
Before nationalization, T. Rodwell and Son, Ltd., Wombwell, near Barnsley, were running 16 vehicles and two trailers, which were acquired by the British Transport Commission. The company have now returned with nine special A licences, the vehicles employed being eight Bedfords (one a six-wheeler) and a Scammell eightwheeler.
A special feature is made of South Wales services, which include the Monmouthshire, Rhondda and Swansea valleys, also of the south-western counties' services, taking in Worcester, Gloucester, Somerset, Wiltshire, Dorset, Devon and Cornwall.
Lists arc circulated to prospective customers giving particulars of all the towns and villages where direct delivery
can be made each week. Traffic is accepted in large or small lots for delivery within seven days, although urgent consignments may reach their destinations within a day or two.
This fleet does not operate trunk services, the system being for consignments up to about 3 tons to he collected and grouped in the Wombwell warehouse, then reloaded for direct delivery on a district journey. The only timelag that can occur is at the company's own loading centre, where the situation can be kept under direct control.
Bigger Than Before
Back in road transport on a slightly larger scale than before nationalization are F. and H. Croft, Ltd., Yeadon, near Leeds. They purchased their old vehicles back from B.R.S. in August, 1954, then resumed their nightly runs to London. Ayrshire and Glasgow, and the daily services to Leeds, Bradford, Huddersfield and Manchester.
lit pre-nationalization days the company ran eight vehicles and two trailers, but now have 11 Maudslay, E.R.F., A.E.C.. Commer and Thames vehicles and three trailers. The principal commodities carried are textiles, wool and machinery, but special facilities for household removals are also provided. It has been necessary to double the size of the former premises.
Mr. G. B. Cox, of Yardley Transport, Ltd., Leeds, told me that repair costs had been immense for vehicles taken over from B.R.S. and some new machines had had to be put on the road to replace those that had depreciated as a result of poor maintenance.
This company's fleet comprised 18 vehicles at the time of nationalization and it has now been reconstituted with 21 machines of Albion, E.R.F. and A.E.C. manufacture.
A speciality is made of early market deliveries of fruit and market-garden produce. Nightly trunk runs are operated to London and Liverpool.
After having had IS vehicles acquired, Castle Bros. (Hauliers), Ltd., Leeds, were still able to carry on limited operations during the period of nationalization. Mr. J. Castle, a director, said that they now had 18 special A licences with a total fleet of 30, including E.R.F., Leyland, Albion and Atkinson. Their principal activities are carrying castings, kitchen equipment and building materials to the London, Birmingham, Bristol and Newcastle upon Tyne districts.
More or less normal activities were carried on during nationalization by Rothwell's Transport Services, Ltd., Linthwaitc, but, with three special A licences, the company now run nine vehicles and have difficulty in keeping pace with the increase in business. A speciality is the collection of cartoned foodstuffs in bulk from Manchester and Liverpool docks for breaking up into small lots and redistribution throughout the West Riding. A daily service is run between Merseyside and Yorkshire. Vulcan, Dennis, Leyland and Proctor vehicles are used.
Distribution from Bulk Another organization which undertakes distribution from bulk is Isaac Croft and Sons, Ltd., of Yeadon, principal commodities carried in addition to foodstuffs being cloth and textiles, electrical machinery, tamps and sanitary ware. Direct daily services are offered over a large area of Lancashire and Yorkshire. with direct runs as required to Hull, Newcastle, North Wales and the Scunthorpe area. The business, which was established in 1853, had a fleet of 13 vehicles before nationalization and is now in full operation again with 14.
A big increase has been scored by Baldry's Haulage, Ltd., York, a company with strong interests in the agricultural world. Before nationalization only three vehicles were owned, one on A licence and two on B licences. These continued to operate under permit, but now a total fleet of 60 has been built up if one takes into account farm • trucks, lime spreaders, etc.
Baldry's are fruit, carrot and potato merchants, so that commodities of this nature form the principal loads. A.E.C., E.R.F,, Atkinson, Albion and Bedford lorries are used and trunk services are operated on the HullManchester and Hull-Blackburn routes. In consequence of expansion of business a new yard and warehouse have been estabIished at Albert Avenue, Hull.
At Huddersfield, premises that had been let to B.R.S. have now been repossessed by J. T. Gee's Transport, Ltd., although the fleet, which principally serves Hull, Liverpool and Manchester, is still less than half that of former days. Before nationalization there were 22 vehicles and seven trailers, and now there are seven lorries with four trailers.
Thomas Hopton (Transport), Ltd., of Castleford, ran some 45 vehicles in 1948, when all were sold, although only 18 were acquired by the B.T.C. A return has been made with 10 special A licences and a dozen E.R.F. and Foden vehicles.
The Ackworth Transport Co., Ltd., South Eimsall, Pontefract, used to have a fleet of about 100. This is in the process of being reconstituted and, including associated companies, some 40 vehicles are now operated, carrying goods throughout the country.
Back with 19 Vehicles
Messrs. Mason Bros., now Mason Bros. (Haulage and Storage), Ltd., used to work 17 vehicles, but went out completely during the nationalization period. Since, however, they have acquired the ex-B.R.S. depot at Wilton Gardens, Rotherham, and, with 16 special A licences, have built up a fleet of 19 vehicles. These include 10 Leyland, six of them eight-wheelers, seven Vulcan articulated, a Vulcan 7-tanner and an A.E.C. Mercury.
Principal districts served are the East and West Ridings of Yorkshire, South Lancashire, Greater London and the Home Counties. There is a South Yorkshire-London trunk service. The main commodities carried include steel bar, machinery, copper, lead, tin-plate and foodstuffs.
' Tom Roberts and Son (Barnsley), Ltd., an organization also having passenger interests, managed to operate locally during nationalization and the fleet has now been increased to 10, against eight vehicles that were formerly run.
The County of Broad Acres—even the purely industrial area—is too large for generalizations to be completely
satisfactory. One senses that here and there shortages of road transport may have developed, but, in the main, trade and industry are enjoying a useful range of choice, with B.R.S. remaining as a considerable factor in the situation.