Problems of the
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HAULIER and CARRIER ALANCASHIRE man is rather a puzzle to those who do not know him well: At least, I. have that impression. His principal characteristic is simplicity, the simplicity of direct dealing, but not that which gives anything away. As indication of that, take the fact that rate-cutting is less prevalent amongst the rank and file of hauliers in the County Palatine than anywhere else in the country.
I was in Lancashire the other day, and there met a haulier who lived at Fazakerley, a village about seven miles from Liverpool, whence he drew most of his trade. He was a newcomer to haulage and had written asking me for advice, try, sort of letter I can do nothing with, in the ordinary way, because it is too general:— " I am just starting in business as a haulage contractor. I have bought a 2-ton ` Z—x ' and should be glad of any advice you can give me."
" How's the haulage business going?" seemed to me the best way to start the conversation.
" Aw reet, thanks."
"Managing very well without my help then?" I asked.
" Ah'in an' ah'm not," he replied. " Accordin' to mah reckonin', ah'm doin' aw reet, but ah'm not gettin' owt like t'rates gi'en in t' Commercial Motor."
" How do you know you're doing all right, B48 then?" I asked, a question that I have put to many.
" Ah've getten a tidy bit put away in t'stivin's bank an' all' ve only bin agate a couple o' months. An' ah'm not forgetting tyres an' maintenance an' aw that, nother," he said "You mean you've something in hand besides what you are putting on one side against tyre renewals, maintenance and depreciation?" I said.
"Aye, an t'insurance money an' aw," he rejoined. "And you've saved something in addition to all that?" I asked. " Ah cawnt seh that," he answered. "But, then, tha knows, ah've 'ad some extra ex'es to face, startin' like."
"Where, then, do you think The Commercial Motor Tables are wrong?" I asked. "Can you, run your lorry for less than the figures of cost quoted there?"
" No! They're aw reet. Ah can see fneed for 'em. But ah doan't reckon there can be any establishment charges, not in rnah business, any rate." "Well, that's just where you are wrong."
"Aye?"
"You said only a minute ago you had some extra expenses to meet?"
" Ah ! They were only at startin' like. There'll be no more of 'era."
"Oh, yes, there will," I rejoined. "And that for as long as you're in business. What were the expenses, anyway?" "Mostly finding work."
"And do you think you have finished with all that?"
"No, not exactly," came the hesitant reply.
"And another thing," I said, "how do you get from here to Liverpool, where I suppose you pick up most of your loads?"
"How do I get there?
Why, on florry, o' course!" he replied, almost surprised. "You don't do that for nothing," I said. "And then you 1140 your .telephone, postage, envelopes, and
50 011."
"Aye, but they'r all little things, nother 'ere nor•there."
"Are they? I know exactly the 'way in which your expenses mounted tip in the first few weeks of your business. In the first place, before you could get any work, you had to travel from here to Liverpool, about seven miles. When there it's more than likely that you covered a further 20 miles, going from one warehouse to another, showing them your vehicle, telling them what you could do and trying to get orders. And after that there is another seVen miles back again at night. That is 34 miles per day, say, 200 miles a week, which is roughly about 18. If this looking for work goes on for only a fortnight, there is £16 spent and not a penny earned."
"That's just abawt ,what did happen."
"But even now that you've got some work, expenses of that kind continue. You still have to run seven miles each way from here to Liverpool, for example, and that has to be covered twice a day, or at least twice for every journey.
"Then, again, it rarely happens when your Wry has taken a load away from Liverpool to, say, Hull or Newcastle, that a return load is Picked up on the premises where the original load is discharged. There is sure to be some dead mileage to be covered at the Other end of the journey, picking up the second load, if there is one offered, or, worse still, running about trying to find a load before coming back. "I have known plenty of cases where that dead mileage averages 50 a week and that, you might note, is 2,500 a year. Even if you reckon only the bare running costs of 3.3d. per mile, the total is £34 7s. 6d., which, you will agree, is not, as you say, 'a little thing, neither here nor there.'
"The fact is, you know, all these little things mount up. I see you have a telephone. You'll find that will cost you at least £12 ,a year. You've got to have some notepaper and envelopes and you've got to pay for postage. And, believe me, it's very little in the way of correspondence that you'll get for 13
a year, even if you use the cheapest of notepaper and envelopes. That is allowing £2 10s. for postage—is. a week. •
"1 .don't know what you do about your letters, but if you take my advice you'll type them, even if it takes you a day or two to find out how to use a typewriter. -You'll get an old machine for about £5, but -even if it lasts you five years, that is 11 a year.
• " Then .you'll be surprised how often it will happen, when you are in Leeds, London or Birmingham, that you will have to get in touch with your client, either by trunk telephone call or telegram. You may take it from me that £1 10s. a year is not an extravagant amount to estimate on that•account.
"You'll have to allow something, too, for tips. I don't know whether you've had a case of the sort yet, but I can tell you that it often .happens that, when you're delivering or collecting a lead, you find you cannot just manage, unaided, to get the goods on or off the lorry. You call somebody to give you a hand and you can't go away without giving the chap something. In fact, it's not policy to do so—you may be around that way again. Even if that account aver ages only Is. a week, that is a further /2 10s. a year.
"And, again, I gather that most of your work is long-distance haulage. There are always little expenses cropping up when you're away from home that wouldn't have to be met otherwise. None of them may be large, but just as, in the case of these tips, if it's only 1s, a week, that's 12 10s. a year."
"Have you nearly done?" he broke in.
"As a matter of fact, I have," I said, "but—oh what do you do about insuring the load?"
"I've got a policy for £500 and it's cost me £12 a year."
"There you are, that's another little item of establishment costs. Now, let's see what we've got," I said, and jotted down the items as follow:—Dead mileage, 134 is. 6d.; telephone, £12, stationery and postage, £3; typewriter, 11; trunk telephone calls and telegrams, 11 10s.; sundry tips, £2 10s.; expenses away from home, £2 10s.; insurance of the load, £12. The total was £68 17s. 6d., which is roughly £1 7a. a week.
"What do you think of that?" I said "These little bits mount up in a year, and if you don't provide for them you'll fail." • S.T.R.