ern Newspaper Distribution
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Publishers', Wholesalers' and Contractors' Vehicles Provide a Tightly Scheduled yet Flexible Distribution Service, Joining Forces Whenever Necessary to Combine Economy with Rapidity
OVER. 10m. people live within a 50-mile radius of Manchester and there is good reason that the city is second only to Fleet Street in the newspaper world. Each week, 35m. newspapers are produced by the rival publishing houses, which are mostly located in a small area in the centre of the city, and are dispatched by road and rail as far as Scotland, the Potteries, North Wales and the East Coast.
The publishing district has historical links with both literature and transport. Close to Kemsley House, which is claimed to be the largest office in the world devoted entirely to newspaper and periodical production, is Chetham's, probably the first free library in the world, founded in 1656 and still in use. Near the otherend of Deansgate beyond Northcliffe House are the premises that formed the first railway station in Britain—the terminus buildings of the ManchesterLiverpool line which date back 123 years. The original Roman settlement is nearby.
Horses and traps were used to .carry newspapers to B12 1 newsagents, street vendors and the railway termini until only a few years ago. Until the last, they were frequently quicker than motorvans, but had eventually to give way. The final blow was the asphalting of cobbled city streets which facilitated the movement of mechanized vehicles.
During the day, the vans of the Manchester Evening News and the Evening Chronicle can be seen regularly, but newspaper transport is at its peak from midnight ,until 4.30 a.m. Copies of the Manchester Guardian are then starting their journeys from Cross Street. Thousands of packages are coming from the northern plants of the Daily Herald, the Daily Express, the News Chronicle and the Daily Mail. Kemsley House is turning out the Daily Dispatch and the local editions of the Daily Telegraph.
There are also the sporting newspapers and copies of the Daily Mirror and the Daily Sketch come off the London trains for re-distribution. During the early hours of Sunday, the corresponding newspapers go through the same procedure.
Both • the Kemsley and the Manchester GuardianManchester Evening News organizations have their own fleets of modern vehicles, but there arc specialist hauliers who have developed to eater for the transport of newspapers. Although each operator is particularly attached to one or more organization, there is a high degree of co-ordination.
Mr. A. J. Chorlton is the contractor for the Daily Mail, and W. A. Dean and Co. (Manchester), Ltd., for the News Chronicle. Messrs. J. Whalen and Co. handle the Daily Herald and the Daily Express. John Heywood, Ltd., and Abel Heywood, Ltd., two .wholesalers, are served by Deliveries, Ltd., whilst the wholesale operations of W. H. Smith and Son, Ltd., are handled by W.H.S. Transport, Ltd.
The keenest enterprise is exercised by a newspaper when it comes to securing an exclusive story, but co-ordination is the watchword in transport, for there is no doubt that the public would be the ultimate losers if there were a narrow exclusiveness, producing intensive competition, in a contractor's work. This co-operation rests largely upon arrangements made by the Northern Circulation Managers' Committee, which
meets fortnightly to consider newspaper transport problems. Their deliberations result, among other things, in speedy transfers of loads taking place at about 3 a.m. in one or two quiet streets.
Until this time, the newspaper fleets are engaged upon carrying packages from the printing plants to the London Road, Central, Victoria and Exchange railway stations where entire trains or special wagons await them. Local work is done later with the editions sent by road to towns and villages mostly within 25 miles. The contractors perform nearly 90 per cent. of the local road deliveries. The Manchester Guardian and Kemsley vehicles which are active during the day are substantially confined to the city area at night, whilst the contractors serve more distant points.
Automatic Handling?
A peak period at a newspaper loading bay provides a scene of intensive but smoothly co-ordinated effort as the work of dispatch is carried through to a rigid timetable. The mechanical processes involved in the production of a national newspaper are invariably a matter of wonder to the layman and for that reason privileged visitors to a dispatch department sometimes express surprise at the lack of some form of automatic handling at the loading end. Transport managers, however, have not overlooked the possibilities in this connection.
Experiments have been tried but it has been found that mechanization is liable to be accompanied by a reduction in flexibility, an essential of the newspaper which is geared to react not only to the varying events of the day but also to the changes in the taste of its public. For this reason packing and loading are often a matter of individual knowledge and quickness of hand, the good work of the "base-wallah" having a bearing on the speed of dealing with parcels at the delivery end.
In wholesale distribution activity, the contractors have pre-determined rendezvous where they join forces. Although the vehicles are primarily associated with a specific establishment, they will each take a complete load of newspapers of all kinds to wholesalers in the smaller towns. Often, a van will unload and then assist the wholesaler's vans in the final stages of distribution. Contractors split costs among various individual users, but there is also a certain amount of reciprocal business.
A constant worry for the staffs of newspapers printed in London and sent to Manchester by rail is that bad weather may delay the trains and the road delivery services may be missed. A small fleet of vans waits to meet the trains and hurries the parcels to transfer depots. Should word come that the trains are delayed, the vans wait for a maximum of 10 minutes.
Plans for Emergency
Once this limit has expired, the contractors' vehicles leave on their rounds, but reserve vans are maintained so that the late train can be met and the newspapers taken to the wholesalers. Only those engaged in transport know how unexpectedly arrangements can go wrong when everything appears to be working smoothly. Because nothing must be allowed to interfere with newspaper distribution, for alarm and despondency quickly spread in the absence of a source of reliable information, plans have been made for the whole of the north of England to be served with adequate road transport in the event of an emergency..
For many years, Kemsley Newspapers, Ltd., has held an important stake in the Manchester newspaper world. At present, the company's fleet of 98 vehicles covers B14 65,000-70,000 miles a month, almost wholly on intensive short-distance work. Until 1936, Allied Newspapers, Ltd., predecessors of the Kemsley organization, employed horses and vans. Austin Seven vans were substituted in that year and the advantage of being able to use motor vehicles throughout the 24 hours was quickly appreciated.
Six Humber Super Snipe vans in the fleet cater for those rounds where fast acceleration is needed, but most loads are carried by Austin and Morris-Commercial 30-cwt. and 3-ton vans and Bedford 10-12-cwt.models. When the vehicles have completed their rounds, they are refuelled at the garage, serviced and parked in readiness for departure. All maintenance work, except cylinder boring and crankshaft regrinding, is performed on the premises.
The Manchester Guardian-Manchester Evening News organization have a large mixed fleet which covers over lm. miles a year. The company bought their first motor vehicle in 1911 but the last horses were retired only a year ago. The horses and vans were a tradition of the city and for this reason the Manchester Guardian probably retained them for longer than was strictly economic.
Nevertheless, there are still runs over which the vans are fractionally Slower, but should a train be missed in , an emergency a horse could hardly continue to make a direct delivery to a place 40 miles away as is possible with mechanical transport. The extensive Broughton stables have been converted to a garage. Extensive adaptation has been done and close individual attention is paid in maintenance matters.
Messrs. J. Whalety'and Co., who chiefly handle the Daily Express, the Daily Mirror and the Daily Herald, have 39 vehicles stationed in Manchester, including reserves, as well as a larger fleet in Glasgow. About 12m. newspapers are carried in Manchester alone. The firm's main routes extend to Leeds, Chester, Stafford, Burnley, Liverpool and Sheffield. Bulk collections are made from certain places for delivery to Manchester.
This firm have specialized in newspaper transport since just after the first world war. They have served the Daily Express for about 32 years. The vehicles are mainly 2-tonners of Dodge manufacture although there are also some Thames and Austins. They average 300 miles a week throughout the year.
W.H.S. Transport, Ltd., operate 14 Bedford 30-cwt. vans, all of which have sliding cab doors and rear roller shutters. They usually carry about 25 cwt. but during the middle of the week, when periodicals are being carried in addition to the daily papers, they work to full capacity.
In an eight-hour shift, the newspaper runs take five hours and the remainder of the time is devoted to transporting stationery and other goods required by W. H. Smith and Son, Ltd. Each vehicle covers 350-400 miles weekly and loads picked up on the newspaper delivery rounds average 180-200 parcels. A 12-mile trip to Bolton involves about 72 drops and a similar run to Bramhail 60.
The company came into being 21 years ago, delivery services previously being handled by the parent concern. The Manchester vans collect from publishing houses and stations, operate co-ordinated services and undertake general deliveries. Maintenance work is done during the day at the Cornbrook garage.
Enlistment of drivers and commandeering of horses during the 1914-18 war led to the setting up of a pooled distribution service for the wholesale houses of Abel Heywood, Ltd., and John Heywood, Ltd. This service is the preserve of Deliveries, Ltd., which also co-operate with W. H. Smith. The company have 55 lorries and vans, mainly Austin, Bedford and Thames 2+-tanners and Bedford 30-cwt. models. The vans have openings at both sides as well as at the rear to facilitate loading.
35 Drops Per Journey The average weekly mileage per vehicle is about 300 and the number of drops per journey between 35 and 45. Weights of loads differ from morning to morning, according to the number of periodicals being issued on the particular day, and from area to area, but the average is 2 tons. The vehicles of Deliveries, Ltd., are well known not only in Manchester but also in Burnley, Colne, Nelson, Warrington, Leigh and Macclesfield.
The main garage is at Old Trafford and a thorough maintenance system is applied. The company's own staff take responsibility for all repair and overhaul work, except that falling within the scope of precision engineering which is usually given to contractors.
Fourteen Thames vehicles of 1 i-5 tons capacity of Mr. A. J. Chorlton are specially employed upon newspaper distribution and they work intensively within a 25-mile radius with occasional journeys to places such as Liverpool and Chester. The business dates back well into the horsed-transport era and has been connected with the newspaper industry for over 30 years.
The first vehicle employed was a Ford Model T. Mr. Chorlton caters specially for the Daily Mail and the Sunday Dispatch. His workshops perform all service work including engine overhauls and reboring.
The haulage business of W. A. Dean and Co. (Manchester), Ltd., dates back to 1897 and horses were in use when it was decided to carry newspapers. The number of vehicles used on special duties varies between nine and 17, according to demand, newspapers particularly served being the News Chronicle and the News of the World.
Mainly Within 25 Miles Dodge and Thames 5-6-ton lorries and vans carry most of the traffic and normally work within a 25-mile radius, although journeys are made to Birmingham and Chester. Emphasis is placed upon good maintenance so that the vehicles are always ready for trouble-free duty. Most of the service work can be done at the Dean garage, although it is unusual for the fepair shops to strip down and rebuild engines completely. The range of equipment includes a fuel-injection pump bay. Bodybuilding and paint shops are also provided.
In addition to using contractors' services, some of the national publishing houses also have small local fleets under direct control. It will be realized that besides the distribution of national newspapers, with which I have dealt in this article, there is also a heavy traffic in periodicals and local. newspapers. The volume is probably greater than anywhere else in the provinces.