Grain hauliers team up to press for rates rise
Page 5
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
• by Karen Miles Grain hauliers in the south of England operating up to 400 trucks between them are getting together in an attempt to push up rates and improve their treatment from farmers and grain merchants.
The merchants want to improve food hygiene standards through better quality haulage, but are finding there are not enough trucks to meet demand when the harvest-time peak starts next month.
More than 30 hauliers from Hampshire, Somerset, Wiltshire and Oxfordshire have discussed terms and conditions, but some are said to be wary of standing up to the most powerful grain merchants which traditionally set the haulage rate. Simon Sayers, managing director of Newbury-based Falkland Haulage, who is leading the rates campaign, wants grain hauliers from all over Britain to contact him so they can work together to improve conditions in the sector.
The recommended schedule suggests rates such as Y.4.25/tonne for 25-tonne loads on a 15-mile radius. Many hauliers are working for less than £4/tonne.
The grain merchants' trade group, UKASTA, says it cannot intervene on rates but will probably back most of the hauliers' other proposals, including payments for long delays while loading.
UKASTA director-general Jim Reed will be meeting a number of grain hauliers in Micheldever, to the north of Winchester, on 10 July.
This summer UKASTA will be enforcing rules prohibiting grain trailers from carrying other cargoes, including waste, glass, bonemeal and toxic materials—making it harder for outsiders to enter the market at harvest time.
Grain hauliers say they cannot pay drivers enough to keep them. One says rates have increased by only 30% over the past 15 years—a new grain trailer with a digital weigher now costs £28,000.
• Hauliers who want a copy of the recommended rates sheet or suggested code of practice should call Simon Sayers on 01635 40093.