Hire and reward gets more freight
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• Latest Departifient of Transport figures show the independent haulier's share of the road freight market increased strongly last year to over 55%.
During the year, ownaccount hauliers moved 618 million tonnes, down 1 million tonnes on 1985, whilst independent hauliers increased tonnage moved from 748 million tonnes in 1985 to 769 million tonnes.
Independent hauliers also increased the amount of freight they moved per kilometre last year, up from 66.6 billion tonne kilometres in 1985 to 68.7 billion tonne kilometres. During the same period own-account operators saw a decrease of 100 million tonne kilometres in the amount of freight moved per kilometre, to 32.4 billion tonne kilometres.
Much of the strength of the independent sector appears to come from strong demand, particularly for work involving articulated top-weight vehicles. During 1986, articulated vehicles were used for 89.5% of the time, compared with 87.2% in 1985. By comparison, rigid vehicles remained at a similar level of usage (82%).
The average length of haul • has also increased, reflecting the greater use of large vehicles, up from 37km in 1985 to 39Icm last year.
The report, The transport of goods by road in Britain 1986, Statistics bulletin (87) 42, says that the introduction of the 38-tonne weight limit has helped to increase hauliers' efficiency by 12% since 1980. It has also resulted in a reduction of 40,000 in the number of heavy goods vehicles on Britain's roads. The Department of Transport estimates that the weight rise produced savings of £100 million for hauliers.