• Fifty loads of roll-on/roll-off freight are now being carried
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on to the Continent every week by British Road Services Ltd — a development which has occurred only in the past three months. The rate of buildup — using driver-accompanied artics — is such that BRSL is planning for 100 loads a week by April, with continuing growth envisaged. Most of the present traffic is relatively short-distance, to France. Belgium and Holland.
Although this is an initiative by the general haulage section, liaison with other NFC members — especially Containerway and the NCL/Pickfords interests — is intended to ensure that there will not be wasteful competition for European traffic among State companies.
Managing director Mr L. S. Payne told CM last week that NFC and BRSL financial results for 1971 would, despite the inevitable effects of a difficult year, confound the public critics who had forecast major losses. The BRSL group is itself expected to show a return of about 10 per cent on its capital in 1971, with a profit of around £1.4m before payment of the "dividend" interest to the Government. The general haulage section, which lost £0.84m in the previous year, was in a profit situation in 1971.
The new co-ordinator of the BRSL group, Mr Peter Thompson, is looking forward to an expansion phase now that the slimming treatment applied by his predecessors has been completed: 20 depots have been closed in the past year, following earlier warnings that those which could not show a reasonable return on capital would be shut down.
Mr Thompson is particularly interested in expanding BRSL's total-distribution contracts and both he and Mr Payne told CM last week that they saw night deliveries as the ultimate answer for urban distribution, especially using sealed "air-lock" cages avoiding the need for night shop staff. They stated that BRSL was now well ahead with night delivery plans for one large supermarket chain.