HINTS ,FORHAULIERS.
Page 22
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An Interesting Query Concerning House-to-house Delivery at a Cut Rate.
IHAVE received quite a number of Christmas greetings from correspondents who take a personal interest in what appears from week to week on this page. Generally, a little more than a bare acknowledgment of these greetings is necessary, as they are usually accompanied by a request for information or advice in connection with some knotty problem, up against which my correspondent finds himself.
Amongst them there is one which may very well serve as the subject of this week's article, which, in any case, is to be a short one, so as to leave room for the publication of a blank log sheet. In connection with this log sheet, I would again draw the attentioti of all readers of this page to-the fact that printed sheets, each affording space for recording the log of four vehicles for one week, may be obtained gratis on application to the Editor. When regularly completed they are a considerable help to the haulier in enabling him to keep track of the running cost of his machines.
A Reader's Problem on Charging.
The correspondent with whom. I am particularly concerned this week, and whom I will designate " Highmen," has the offer of a yearly contract in
. volving a mileage of about 60 per week, covering a period of a day and a half or ten and a half hours in all. The work is house-to-house delivery and collection, and can be carried out by means of a one ton Ford, with which type of vehicle, in fact, my correspondent proposes to do the work.
According to ourescale, as.published on page 59 of the issue of August 30th, the charges should he at the rate of 7d. a mile, together with 4s. 8d. an hour. This, for the contract in question, amounts to 35s. for the mileage and 49s. for the time ; total, four guineas. My correspondent has, apparently, tendered 24 10s., and has been advised that the work can be placed at a much lower figure. He 'naturally wants to know if I can offer any suggestion, and whether it is possible for him to reduce his quotation and still make a profit.
The answer is, mainly, that it all depends upon his own particular circumstances, and the only way to ascertain the truth is for him to examine his figures of cost one by one, comparing them with those which have appeared in the course of this series of articles. I will, by way of assistance, traverse the figures here and now, so as to indicate to him the lines which his investigations should take. If he is still in doubt, I will, if he will write to me suggesting a convenient time for an apnointment, call upon him and discuss the matter in detail
The Analysing of Costs.
The expenditure in connection with work of this kind falls under two main heads. There is the Cost of working the lorry itself, such as has to be faced by every owner of a motor vehicle,. •whether that vehicle be used as a source of income or merely_ as an accessory to his business ; and there ie the cost of running the business of the haulier itself. We will consider the eost of working the. lorry first. This also is divisible into two parts—the cost of running and the standing charge.
The running costs of the Ford one-tonner • were given in detail on page 59 of the issue of August :10th as follow :—Fuel ',petrol at 2s. per gallon,' and assuming consumption at the rate of 12 m.p.g.), 2.000. ; lubricants, 0.40d. ; tyres, 1.50d. ; maintenance, 1.22d. ; depreciation, 0.60d. ; total, 5.72d. (ler ei22 tam n corrections may already be made to these figures as the result of reductions in the price of commodities. Petrol, of course, is still, to the commercial user, 2s. a gallon. The other figures might now be taken to be lubricants, 0.35d. ; tyres, 1.2.5d. ; maintenance, 1.10d.; depreciation, 0.55d. ; total, 5.25d,
How all Costs should be Analysed before Quoting for a Contract.
The standing charges have not been discussed at length since the issue of January 25th crf this year, when they appeared as follow :--Licence duty, 100d. ; wages, 900d. ; rent, 60d.. insurance, 54d. ; interest on first cost, 60d. ;, total, 1,174d. ; all per week. Alteration to these has occurred in connection with driver's wages and the first cost of a vehicle. Juet. exactly what my correspondent's own figures are do not know, but we will assume, for the sake of argument, that he pays hie driver 23 a week, and that the actual charge for interest should be 56d. ; the total is thus 990th, or £4 as. 6d. a week.
As regards establishment charges, I cannot presume to go into these in detail here. I can only enumerate them, and suggest that my correspondent fills in the actual amounts for himself. The following are the items which he should have in mind in estimating his casts under this head 1—Office rent, heating and lighting, depreciation of offiee furniture and typewriters, cost of postage, stationery, telegrams and telephone, wages of office assistants, insurance, advertising, and sundries. For the sake of argument, we will assume that these amount in all to 23 a week. Provision for replacing his _own vehicle by another in the event of a breakdown must be made, and a contingency fund for this purpose could easily absorb 25s. a week.
Our correspondent is, therefore, involved in a total expenditure of £3 a week for establishment charges, .E1 5s. a week for contingency fund, and £4 2s. Gd. for standing charges, quite apart from any mileage which the vehicle may cover. He must make this, together with 22 2s. 6d. a week minimum profit, the basis of his chargefor time. Assuming a 48-hour week, it is clear that a minimum charge of 4s. fid. an hour must be made, and to this must be added 6d. a mile for every mile covered. On that basis the charge for this contract would be 23 17s. 6d. a week.
TEE SKOTCH.