Problems
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of the
HAULIER
and
CARRIER
THERE are two classes of work which cause trouble for hauliers, whenever they are asked to quote for a contract, or when they want to be able to fix prices. There are those contracts that involve journeys of varied lengths, starting from some central base and making deliveries at several points, and there is work such as parcels delivery, which involves the calculation of prices per parcel delivered any distance up to the maximum. The,.latter is, of course, in connection with a regular servicp between two points, the operator acting as parcels carrier along the route.
The cases at first sight seem similar. Actually, they call for different treatment. The one that is concerned with journeys of varying length from a given base is complicated by the fact that there is no regular weekly mileage on which to base calculations of probable cost ; the other is made difficult by the fact that, although the mileage is known and is regular, the requirements of customers differ.
At present I have before me a problem of the firstmentioned class. The inquirer who has written to me tells me that he has been invited to quote for the conveyance of goods from a given centre to 26 different destinations: The distances from the base to the jioints of delivery vary from 11 miles to the nearest to 60 miles to the one which is farthest away.
The loads to each destination are sufficient to fill the 3-ton and 5-ton lorries which it is proposed to use, sothat we are spared the complication of having to calculate the effect of dropping portions here and there. Each journey is complete in itself—out with the load and back again for more.
The time taken to load a 3-tonner is approximately 2 hours, whilst 14 hour is needed for unloading. In the case of the 5-tonner the times are 3 hours and 2 hours respectively. It follows, therefore, that each journey of the 3-tonner involves a minimum of 3i hours' standing time, whilst the 5-tonner must wait 5 hours on
Journeys, and particularly by reference to the shortest and the longest or them. I will, for this' purpose, consider the conditions under which the 3-tonner must work.
I will assume that it is just possible to complete two trips per day of journey No. 1, and, although it set down as a 51-hour run, I am going to take it for granted that it can, as a matter of fact, be done in 5 hours, because, say, the road is good and straight. For a 507hour week that means five days of two trips per day, making a total of 10 per week.
The mileage, on that basis, is 220 and the cost of operating a 3-tonner for. 220 miles per week is, according to the Tables, £10 15s. Add £1 5s. per week for establishment charges and £3 10s. per week for profit and we arrive at the total charge which must be made—namely, £15 10s. per. .week. That is, us. per load, or 10s. 4d. per ton Now, the longest trip can be completed in a day only If overtime be worked, but, assuming that it is possible to arrange for overtime every day that this trip is ran, then, over a week, there will be five complete journeys, and the distance travelled will be 600 miles. The cost, according to The Commercial Motor Tables of !Operating Costs, is £18 18s. Add 10s. for overtime, 11 5s. per week for establishment charges and £4 per week for profit, and the total becomes £24 13s., which is practically £5 per trip and £1 13s. 4d. per ton.
Considering Other Journeys.
Journey No. 2 is practically the same as No. 1. No. 3 is a little longer, but it should be possible to do two per day, with a little overtime. No. 4, too, is a two-journey-per-day case, but the overtime there is becoming a little beyond the maximum, which may reasonably be expected, day in and day out, and, when
No. 5 is reached, it may be taken definitely that regularly to do two trips per day would be impossible.
If a long run of journeys to destination No. 5 were to come along probably some arrangement, such as two trips on one day and one on the next, would have to be' agreed. That might work out at an average of seven journeys per week, a total of 400 miles, costing £15 5s. only for operating the vehicle. If to that sum 25s. be added for establishment charges, £4 for profit and 10s for overtime, the total becomes 121, which is equal to £3 per trip, or £1 per ton.
Mapping Out Charges.
It would be possible, working along these lines, to map out charges for each length of journey and, from the information thus compiled, to complete the foregoing table, including therein cost per journey and cost per ton for each size of vehicle. The figures thus portrayed would, however, be of very little practical use for the following reasons:—
These journeys are infrequently conveniently arranged in any sense of that word. It is seldom the case that a long run of journeys to the same destination occurs, followed by another run of journeys to another destination.
Indeed, it is much more likely that there will be many days in which loads are not available to keep the vehicles at work all the time. There will be halfdays lost here and there, and the conditions will hardly ever be such as to make it practicable to set out a regular scale of charges, as is suggested by the foregoing calculations and the table. The best scheme is to arrange a fiat rate and calculate what that should be, assuming an average weekly mileage, the figure for which may be judged by experience. How, that may be done shall be a subject for another artigle. S.T.R.