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Let operator set rate for job
Page 26
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HAVING READ Brian Weatherley's column (CM 15 September)] was again left wondering where we have all gone wrong.
Year on year we are losing more and more work to foreign trucks and periodically we run the numbers to see if we can do the job any cheaper to stop the decline.
On average two truckloads of fish leave Milford Haven for the Continent every day, but last week we did our second load this year!
Drivers will tell you that there are fewer and fewer British trucks on the ferries.
So it's not just me then.
We buy most, if not all, of our fuel abroad and still we cannot do the job for the low rates which are being offered by foreign hauliers.
Plus, our clients want at least 45 days' credit, preferably 90.
So we are left doing our sums for the job using industry tables and computer software before we pass the resulting rate to our clients and then watch them employ foreign hauliers.
The only way to get the job is to let the customer tell you the rate and then you have to decide whether it's worth it.
The bottom line is that this free trade area, of which we are a member, is great for customers, but unless you have a level playing field in costs with your competitors then the decline in UK transport will continue.
The RHA and FTA are ineffectual at influencing government policy and in turn the government doesn't care about fragmented industries such as transport or fishing.
So there's nothing left but to go back and do the sums and hope that they change in our favour. Fat chance!
John Vincent Director, Penfro Peche Milford Haven