Freight Brokers Are Indispensable
Page 25
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The Requirement of the Moment is a Reduction in Vehicles by Providing Suitable Alternative Means, of Which Clearing Houses Have the Knowledge
-By L. C. Andrews
Managing Director, Herbert Smart er Co., La
THE Ministry of War Transport has, undoubtedly, caused consternation in the ranks of clearing houses. Why? Because the basis of the excellent scheme it has devised is the creation of 450 clearing houses called "units," operated, if original intentions be maintained, by "vehicle experts."
To be logical, surely the existing clearing houses, staffed by "traffic experts" with an unrivalled experience should take their share in operating the scheme.
What is the avowed object of the scheme? To save rubber and petrol, and this can be done only by reducing the use of lorries for the war period. Can operators have either the desire or the experience to divert traffic to routes other than road? Obviously the answer to this question is "No." A road haulier's business is to carry goods in lorries by road. We clearing houses, on the other, hand, are traffic experts in all its aspects—road, rail, canal and sea.
It was we who developed long-distance roadAransport, and out of our early efforts a Very great industry has been built. At no stage in its development has it been even remotely possible to do without the principles of clearing houses; in fact, it must be, quite obvious, even to the most inexperienced, that no one operator care possibly carry goods from anywhere to anywhere.
What does any operator do with goods he cannot handle? He sub-contracts to someone else It is equally obvious that, being only human, any operator takes the cream off the traffic for himself and sub-contracts the "leavings" A clearing house, on the other hand, can afford to be, and is, perfectly fair in distributing traffic, so that all its constituent contractors obtain a share of good, as well as poor, traffic.
Perhaps, at this stage, it may be as well to deal briefly with the points which Mr. Pierson endeavours to make.
In the first place, as traffic experts, we viewed with dismay the manner in which the vehicle experts appointed handled the emergency pools and .H.N.T.P. Mr. Pierson makes no mention of the fact that the new scheme must take traffic off the road in order to save rubber and petrol.
The Pools Caused High Rates If the emergency pools and H.N.T:P. were so ably administered, why has the M. of W.T. found it necessary to disband them? The emergency pools did not carry traffic at less cost than clearing houses, or operators either, come to that. The Liverpool Pool, for instance, at its inception paid 45s. to 50s. to London, whilst clearing, houses and operators were perfectly satisfied' with 35s. The pools did, in fact, force rates up much beyond the figure which was at that time justified.
Mr. Pierson is obvielasly unaware of the great number of "Gentlemen's agreements" between clearing houses to the effect that they do not knowingly compete with each other. I do not know of any such agreement between operators and clearing houses, but I do know of cases where operators have cut clearing-house rates. Again, can 'any operator load his vehicles back from any point without an agent? Is this not clearly working on clearing-house lines?
Mr. Pierson suggests that small operitors should work with larger operators a a " mutual-aid society." I
• thank him for thus so openly admitting the essential, fanctions of a clearing house!
Again, Mr. Pierson says that clearing houses mulct the small contractor by making onerous conditions. This is a most unfair and entirely indefensible statement, as, speaking for my own concern and every other clearing house of repute, 'we pride ourselves on protecting the small contractor in every possible manner, one of the most important of which is to ensure that he is properly and comprehensively insured at a fair and reasonable rate, always lower than that fixed by the M. of W.T.
There is just one other point with which I should like to deal before leaving the question of Mr. Pierson, and that is the deduction of 2/ per cent, from accounts. This is not, as Mr. Pierson claims, for advances, but for payments made immediately work is done and in most cases represents a payment from' six weeks to two months or more before clearing houses themselves are paid.
Are we not all engaged in transport? Surely it is better to get together and pool all our experience and knowledge for the common good; that is, for our country and our profession.
Freight Brokers Save Staff
A large manufacturer probably sends consignments to all parts of the British Isles and,' even to-day, to those places abroad to which we may still ship. Have these manufacturers to maintain a large clerical staff to contact the various means for transport instead of employing a clearing house, or, What is probably a better term, a freight broker, who undertakes all forms of transport. and takes over from warehouse to destination, wherever it may, be, or does Mr. Pierson suggest that the manufacturer should contact an opel'ator who, if he has no service to the particular point, must sub-contract and thereby become a clearing house?
No, Mr. Pierson, you cannot do without clearing houses. Call them by any name you please, but they will still be essential, as•I think I have made clear and as is, after all, so amply proved by the fact that every operator of any size has been forced to have a clearinghouse side to his own business.
May I make• a constructive suggestion? Recently I had the privilege of addressing the Traders' Traffic Conference under the chairmanship of Mr. Caulfield-Giles. That conference, representing the largest manufacturers and merchants in the United Kingdom, unanimously agreed that clearing houses have been of inestimable value to them, and they undertook to contact the M. of W.T. requesting that our experience and services should be utilized under the new scheme. Similar action has been taken by the London Chamber of Commerce.
I was asked what, in my opinion, was our proper function under present conditions? My reply was " let the unit controllers operate the vehicles and the clearing houses operate the traffic, dividing it between road and other services, according 'to the circumstances."
Who are the great, in fact, ultimately, the only, real employers of transport? The manufacturers and merchants, and they say unhesitatingly that we have been, and, from the very nature of our experience, will continue to be, of inestimable service to them.
Can there be any greater, more expe'rt, or more disinterested opinion than theirs? We are content that we can give no stronger proof of our value than this unqualified expression of high appreciation on the part of the employers of us all. .