Rate cut threat
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Rate-cutting on an almost unprecedented scale has been affecting haulage over the past year with very low rates and more newcomers to haulage, said RHA director-general Mr George Newman.
"It is very easy to get an 0 licence and then buy a truck on HP, cut the rate for the job and then go bankrupt," said Mr Newman.
He urged hauliers to be meticulous over their costs. "Refuse to run your trucks at a loss, insist on costs being met plus a profit," he urged.
"It is better to have a small but viable business than a large one which is going bankrupt, but there is an appalling ignorance of the costs of running a business," said Mr Newman.
In a paper in which he examined the current state of the haulage industry, Mr Newman said that Government intervention in the economic affairs of the country was a growing, long-term trend.
Referring to the Government's Green Paper on trans port, Mr Newman said: "There will still be rail subsidies anc there will still be extravagani expenditure on social benefits "Taxation at the moment unjustified. More taxes wil merely push up costs am affect our export perform ance," said Mr Newman.
He, like other speakers, tolc the conference that a first-clas: road system for Britain wa: essential for the trade am industry of the country as whole.
A lot could be done tx improve the rural and trunl roads.
"We are said to impose burden of noise and smoke an we must try to reduce th effects of running our vehicles 'but the lorry is indispensabl and must be given a place society.
"A lot can be done withou colossal expenditure to improv the road system—even the cur tailing of the motorway pro gramme would help," said M Newman.
The road to rail myth ha finally been exploded by th Green Paper which describe the hopes of the rail lobby a a "pipe dream."
But the sting in the tail c the document was the socia costs proposals. "On th theory of the polluter payirq road costs and taxes are no enough, we should be taxe for the smoke and noise etc.
"These new proposals coul add between five and fiftee per cent to our costs but thi is wrong — the Governrner should not have tried to put figure on the social costs."