HARE WORK 0 KEEP RATES
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ID competition we welcome in the dap, industry. However today's .perate cut-throat competition is ating heartache, cheating and had ns throughout our industry and many those we serve are also feeling the Easy access into the trade by Ncomers who seldom have rates or It to pay on decent premises is one y of defeating the old, long ablished who take pride in their fleet, !liaises and facilities. The bulk of aliers, in an attempt to hold on to iat work they do have, are turning a nd eye to proper realistic costing: in ler words, the blind are leading the nd.
The truth is there are too many large icks chasing too little work and until ch time as this, or more likely, a ane government decides to invest or
encourage investment in more civil engineering and housing developments, the present hand-to-mouth existence in our trade will continue, hence rates will remain static, despite ever increasing operating costs, the question being who is going to throw in the towel next. It would seem the best businessman around are drivers, joiners, bricklayers and mechanics, etc, who quite rightly refuse to cut their hourly rates.
The scarcest commodity in the haulage trade is surplus cash required for vehicle replacement, which over the next few years will become more and more difficult when the tax allowance on vehicle purchases is completely removed.
Leasing will then become the name of the game as a means of staying in business with very little asset value. I prefer hire purchase myself. However, it does reveal the competitive nature of our trade when many of us after a lifetime in this business are forced to fall back on borrowing cash in order to remain in business.
Hauliers should note that quite often a good service with good reliable trucks can mean more to a customer than low rates.
In central Scotland and the Fife area the target for eight-wheeled tippers on tonnage work is ti200 per day at t 265 for a 38-tonner, approximately 265 miles per day, hourly rate for an eight-wheeler ti19 per hour and a six-wheeler CI6 per hour.
The above earnings are not consistently achieved, but these are the figures required to survive.
Hauliers throughout the country could assist one another by work sharing and listening to the other chap's side of the story.
Some day hauliers will have no option but to take the bull by the horns as regards rates and waiting time, etc. Robert Wilson
Wilson Haulage Ltd Dunfermline