DOCK-TO-WAREHOUSE HAULAGE PROBLEMS
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SOME of the difficulties of the lorry owner in reference to the conveyance of produce from docks to local warehouses were touched upon in the paper which Mr. Harry Gaunt, managing director of the Liverpool Warehousing Co., Ltd., recently read before the Manchester and Liverpool Section of the Institute of Transport, at Liverpool.
Some thrsa or four years ago The Commercial Motor published an article reviewing the operations of the company's transport fleet.
Mr. Gaunt gave it as his opinion that steam and petrol motors had not been allowed to function properly in the city of Liverpool. Union interference had, he contended, done a lot to retard this form of transport, and the Government added a further handicap by stipulating that the weight for a four-wheeled vehicle must not exceed 12 tons.
"A steam wagon weighs about 7i tons, so that the load is cut down to 4i tons," he said. "A one-horse wagon can draw this weight and there is only one man's wage to face, whereas with the motor there are two men's wages to pay, as well as a much heavier initial cost. If we add an ordinary trailer we are able to haul 10 tons, but we have to employ three men. A good team wagon will draw 10 tons and there is only one man to pay."
"It is not fair," added Mr. Gaunt, "because the roads in the dock area were made to carry heavy weights and they have stood up to their work for years—a totally different proposition from the outside roads."
"The matter of loads is now being taken up with the Ministry of Transport," Mr. Gaunt continued, "and it is hoped that it will allow heavier loads for the dock area. An excellent suggestion has been put forward, the idea being to have all wagons with special privileges over the dock area painted an exclusive colour, so that they could be detected the moment they trespassed." "I know of haulage contractors," Mr. Gaunt remarked, "who made more profit at Is. and 1s. 3d. per ton in pre-war days than they can to-day at double the rate, in spite of the index cost of living being much less than this 100 per cent, increase of charges."