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Exacting but Expanding
Page 118
Page 121
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AGRICULTURAL net output continues to increase—and with it the, demand for transport services. Although last year output reached a new high level, it is up again this year. Based on the pre-war index of 100, the forecast of net output for 1960-61 is 172.
During post-war years there have been substantial changes and improvements in the marketing and'distribution of farming products, with repercussions on haulage requirements. This evolution in agricultural methods has been brought about largely as a result of co-operative effort by farmers, either through national associations or local societies formed for that . purpose.
But although agriculture is this country's largest industry it continues to be made up of relatively small units. Road transport is also a large industry and of similar independent structure. It is therefore functionally well organized to meet the transport requirements of agriculture.
A further similarity between the two industries is the incompleteness of overall statistics, stemming from their individual structure. Thus, while certifiable figures are not readily available, the total tonnage which agriculture requires moving annually is estimated to exceed 50m. tons. And because of the scattered location of farms, practically the whole of this large' tonnage must first be loaded on to road vehicles. In many cases it is more economic to complete the journey by road. As a result, hauliers are in an advantageous position when tendering for farmer's traffic, compared with other forms of transport.
But the agricultural haulier must be as much—if not morcan expert in the goods he carries as in any other range of traffic. On pages 760-763 of this issue the extent to which he must be completely conversant with his customers' work is featured in an account of the service provided by a Devon haulier.
Because the sources of agricultural production are inherently n36 scattered, it can easily be overlooked that farming requires, in total, greater tonnages to be moved than possibly any other one industry. Additionally, the segregation of this total tonnage into such groups as grain, livestock, milk, horticulture and poultry further tends to belie the overall amount of traffic that the agricultural industry requires to be moved.
Moreover, output—and the corresponding need for transport —in most of the groups is increasing. Total sales of milk off farms now exceed 2.300m. gal. annually, whilst there has been a small increase in the number of animals slaughtered in the year 1960-61.
Over the past five years there has been a substantial increase in barley production. In 1954-55 it was 21m. tons, and in 1960-61 41m. tons. As a result, it is becoming increasingly necessary to improve the marketing of barley so as to avoid overloading the market at harvest time. For the 1961 crop, therefore. the Government propose to provide growers with an incentive to hold their barley until later in the season. If such a scheme achieves its objective, the results would have a direct bearing on hauliers' profitability because, until now, they have had to endure excessive waiting time when moving harvested grain.
HERE are some further examples of striking increases in agricultural production. The pre-war annual wheat crop was 1.6m. tons. The 'forecast for 1960-61 is 3m. tons. Similarly, the potato crop has increased from 4.8m. tons to 7m tons, and sugar beet from 2.7m. tons to 7.1m. tons, whilst eggs are up from 385,000 tons to 722,000 tons.
Alongside this continuing increase in overall production there has been a growing interest in the handling of many of these products in bulk. During this stage of evolution it is especially important that hauliers engaged in moving such products should keep abreast of developments so as to be able to make a balanced assessment both of the customer's preparedness to pay for specialized bulk transport services and the rate of this trend towards collection and delivery from the farm in bulk.
In the meantime, however, large tonnages of grain, fertilizers and other traffics will be carried in the ubiquitous sack, which still retains many advantages, particularly as regards flexibility relative to size of load, Sales of grains are made per quarter and the capacity of sacks is related to the corresponding quarter measure of each particular grain. It is therefore essential that hauliers engaged in agricultural traffics should be familiar with these quantities.
One quarter of wheat weighs 41 cwt. or 36 stone, and is normally carried in two sacks of 252 lb. each. Similarly, a quarter of barley or rye weighs 4 cwt. (32 stone) and is carried in two sacks of 224 lb. each. Oats weigh 3 cwt. per quarter.• or 168 lb, per sack.
For the livestock haulier, load capacities cannot be so specific because of the obvious variation in the size of individual animals. Nevertheless, as a rule-of-thumb measure, 70-80 sheep, 120 lambs or 8-10 cattle will be comparative average loadings on a vehicle with a 20-ft. platform length.
IVESTOCK is moved from farms mainly to local markets or special breeding sales. In the first case distances will probably be around 30 miles, but deliveries to special sales might involve much greater mileages. Both the haulier and the driver must be familiar not only with the animals carried, but with the particular loading characteristics of every farm and market which they serve.
In contrast to he spasmodic nature of much of the haulage required by agriculture, milk collection from the farm and subsequent delivery to its first destination are continuous processes every day of the year. As with other perishable foodstuffs, the utmost reliability of service is vital. This, in turn, necessitates high standards of vehicle maintenance, reliable driving staff and a control system capable of working to exacting standards.
There is an increasing collection of milk in bulk from farms and, though this development may not be proceeding as rapidly as might have been expected, some hauliers may be contemplating entry into this field of operation. Because of this, an indication is now given of the cost of operating either a standard 7-ton diesel, fitted with platform body, compared with the corresponding cost of operating a tanker of similar size. But because of the wide variation in individual users' specification as to the type of tanker body, any such comparison must be to some extent arbitrary.
Because of the high initial outlay involved in the purchase of a tanker, it is imperative that maximum utilization is achieved by careful routeing of the vehicle. Also, in contrast to conveyance of milk in churns, the driver of a milk tanker has a greater responsibility for the load carried and should have had an adequate training in this specialized field.
As with other types of agricultural haulage, practical considerations may override the economic ideal as regards the size of vehicle selected for the job. In this instance a four-wheeled rigid chassis is employed as a basis for the tanker with a genuine 14-ton-gross capacity, to avoid the possibility of overloading. When fitted with a tank body the capacity of the several compartments would be around 1,750 gal.
An additional point to be borne in mind when considering entry into bulk haulage of a perishable traffic is the availability of spare tank vehicles to guarantee the continuity of service which is vital to this kind of traffic. When milk is carried in churns the spare platform vehicles available for general haulage would suffice. But if standardization on collection of milk in bulk were requested by the customer, consideration would have to be given to the provision of a spare tank vehicle in the event of breakdown. The inclusion of the cost of such provision would also have to be allowed for when preparing a tender.
Dealing first with the operating cost of the 7-ton diesel, fitted with platform body, it will be assumed that the overall cost is £1,600. With an unladen weight of 3 tons 4 cwt. the revised annual licence duty would be £46 10s.. resulting in a standing cost each week of 19s. 5d. This is based on a 50-week year to allow for two weeks when the vehicle may be off the road either for major overhaul or driver's holiday.
When compiling operation costs which are intended to be used as a general average, the cost of wages is based on a standard 44-hour week. In this particular instance, as a specific type of work is under consideration an exception will be made and the wages paid to drivers will accordingly be based on a 60-hour week. Assuming the vehicle is based in a Grade 1 area as defined in the Road Haulage Wages Council Regulations R.H.(70), the amount allowed for wages will be £14 18s. a week. This amount includes allowances for contributions to the new Graduated Pension and National Insurance, and to employers' voluntary liability insurance.
Rent and rates in respect of garaging the vehicle are nominally assessed at the equivalent of 12s. I Id. a week. Allowing for the recent increase in commercial vehicle insurance premiums, the cost of comprehensive cover for an Asficence operator is reckoned at /127 a year, or £2 10s. 11d. a week. Interest charged at a rate of 5 per cent. on the initial outlay of £1,600 adds £1 12s., giving a total for the five items of standing costs of £20 13s. 3d. a week. With an average weekly mileage of 800, the equivalent cost per mile would be 6.20d.
It will be assumed that fuel oil is purchased in bulk at 3s. 101d. per gal. When an average rate of consumption of 15, m.p.g. is maintained the fuel cost per mile would then be 3.12d. Lubricants are reckoned to add 0.25d. and tyres I.49d. per mile. This tatter calculation is based on a cost per set of £186 and an estimated life of 30,00Q miles. The cost of maintenance is assessed at 2.46d. per mile.
In order to determine the cost of depreciation it is first necessary to deduct the equivalent cost of the initial set of tyres from the price of the vehicle. A further deduction is then made in respect of the estimated residual value when the vehicle is finally disposed of. Allowing 10 per cent. of the initial cost for this value, and with an estimated vehicle mileage life of 150,000, the depreciation cost per mile would be 2.00d.
The total for the five items of running costs is therefore 9.32d. per mile or 131 Is. 4d. a week, still assuming a weekly average of 800 miles. With the addition of these amounts to the standing costs, the total operating costs would be 15.52d. per mile, or £51 14s. 7d. a week.
As stated earlier, there can be wide variations in tanker specifications and, correspondingly, in the total overall cost of such a vehicle. Assuming, in this instance, that the tank body is fitted to a quality-produced chassis of 14-ton-gross capacity, this vehicle will he reckoned to cost £5,000.
THE unladen weight will also be higher, say 6 tons, with a resulting annual licence duty of £108. or £2 3s. a week. Wage, remain the same, namely, £14 18s., as do rent and rates at 12s. 11d, a week. .Because of the greater initial outlay, however. the cost of insurance is a little higher at £2 16s, a week. Interest charges are considerably greater and are now the equivalent of £5 a week. This results in a total standing cost of £25 9s. 11d. a week, or 7.65d. per mile.
Fuel cost per mile is reckoned fractionally higher at 3.60d., with lubricants adding 0.26d. With a set of 'tyres now costing £212, the resulting tyre costs per mile becomes J.70d. An arbitrary addition of 25 per cent. is made to the maintenance cost because of the specialized body, so that this cost is now increased to 3.00d. per mile. Adopting the same procedure as before, but with a reduction to 5 per cent, for the residual value on account of the specialized body and a vehicle mileage life of 300,000, the depreciation cost per mile for this tanker is estimated at 3.63d. This gives a total running cast of 12.19d per mile, or £40 12s, 8d. a week. The corresponding operation costs are 19.84d. per mile, or £66 2s. 7d. a week.
Comparing the total operating cost of the 7-ton diesel, fitted with platform body (15.52d. per mile), and the tanker of comparable size (19.84d. per mile), when both are averaging 800 miles per week, it will be seen that there is an increase of 27.83 per cent. when the tanker is operated. It must he appreciated, however, that a more expensive type of chassis is employed which accounts for some of the wide difference in the cost of each vehicle. Nevertheless, it would be unrealistic to make the comparison between this particular -tanker and a platform vehicle based on a similar high-quality chassis because this would not normally be employed in and around farms.