Two Causes of Rate-cutting?
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I SEE that your contributor S.T.R., who prefers the I guise of anonymity, has been making something in the nature of an attack upon the "families of ownerdrivers," who, according to him, are the "wicked rate cutters in the haulage industry."
There are two main reasons for rate-cutting. First, the operations of certain clearing houses, People who run the unsatisfactory establishments, and there appear to be many all over the country, canvass for traffic on imposing notepaper, although they rarely own even a single vehicle. They are no fools and they know what pays them best. Having garnered the traffic which the busy haulier has been unable to find because a clearing house has got in first, see what happens. The haulier will probably find that even if he had desired to do good business through a clearing house in his owndistrict, this would not do business with him. Instead, those in charge of it are waiting for the driver who is looking for a return load, at half the price.
Next in importance, I would say is the contract A licence. Such licences which have been "coming up with the rations" ever since denationalization, are granted free of all the proof of need which surrounds an application for an A type. Having obtained the contract A licence, it.seems that any Torn, Dick or Harry can go to work as a haulier with impunity, for abuses of it ate rampant and loads are brought back illegally, always it cut rates, at the expense of the legitimate operator.
Licensing Authorities are powerless to act without proof. Their enforcement officers know only too well the difficulty of obtaining this. A regular army of them would be necessary to achieve any material results. It appears to me. that the cure for both these evils would be comparatively simple if the Ministry of Transport cared to grasp the nettle.
The remedy for the clearing-house canker, is an established rate according to the nature of the traffic. There is by no means anything like the difficulty in arranging this that some people seem to imagine. In any case, a rate structure laid down by the Ministry and containing a few anomalies, would be better than the present state of affairs. After a short time, any initial difficulties in such a scheme should be ironed out. There would then be some sense in the idea of instituting severe penalties for hauliers running under the rate.
The cure for abuse of the contract A licence would be less easy. Certain measures could, however, be taken to reduce the number of them to fair proportions, and according to the proper requirements of industry. It might even be possible to institute public hearings for all such applications, with the right of objection by operators who claimed to offer the service required by the customer.
Harborne, Birmingham, 17. CHARLES H. BEEKES.
30 m.p.h. by Goodwill—Not Compulsion
1N the leading article in your issue dated June 8, you say that the Minister has acted wisely in not making a " compulsory " Order for an increase in the speed limit on heavy goods vehicles. Surely, it is on that point that the negotiations and arguments have been bedevilled right from the' start. Many people appear to think that if the Minister brings in an Order permitting heavy
goods vehicles to travel at 30 m.p.h., he is in fact insisting that all such vehicles must, in all circumstances, belt along at 30 m.p.h. at least.
All that successive Ministers of Transport have been asked to say is that if a heavy goods vehicle travels at speeds not exceeding 30 m.p.h., the driver will not be prosecuted. Nothing more and nothing less.
Those who take part in these arguments and who oppose this uplift in speed limit, conveniently forget that double-deck buses loaded with 60 or more human beings are permitted to travel at 30 m.p.h. through the heart of London, but it would indeed be a strange sight to see a London bus going at more than 4-5 m.p.h. at some times of the day. No one is asking anyone to dash along at 30 m.p.h. in all circumstances.
It seems amazing that even Ministers of Transport do not appear to have grasped the essence of any Order which they have long been desirous of making, according to their own statements, but they appear to be scared to make it.
The practice today appears to be that the police do not prosecute if a heavy goods vehicle is not exceeding 30 m.p.h., and all the Minister is required to do is to confirm what is, in fact, present action. He is not asking anyone to do anything that they are not already doing. May one hope that the Minister will take his courage in both hands and will make this permissive and not compulsory Order.
Cambridge. G. W. IawiN, Secretary, Eastern Area, Road Haulage Association.
How to Win Export Orders
IT was with interest that I read recently that Sir Henry Spurrier, that great man of the Leyland company, for which concern I have always had a high regard, had just completed a round-the-world tour.
hope that he and other members of the commercial vehicle industry who travel much abroad have made serious attempts to discover what overseas operators really require in the way of vehicles adequately designed for work there. It seems to me that too few British companies go to any great pains to obtain such information or act upon it.
The popular conception that, say, an average sixtonner, altered to left-hand drive and equipped with a larger radiator, over-size tyres and modified electrical equipment, will meet all the needs in any part of the world, is of little or no use.
Prices, and above all, the maintenance of delivery schedules, are of primary importance. Buyers abroad . are not prepared to wait for long periods for British vehicles or other products when our trade rivals, particularly Germany, are prepared to offer delivery in half the time or possibly less.
It is of little use our manufacturers endeavouring to excuse lateness by referring to chaotic conditions at the docks, out-dated roads or unsatisfactory loading and unloading facilities. Potential customers abroad are not interested in our troubles, which are purely domestic, but want their goods delivered at the dates laid down in the contracts.
Doncaster, Yorks. J. W. MORRIS.