Export Haulage

8th November 1957, Page 183

8th November 1957

Page 183

Page 183, 8th November 1957 — Export Haulage

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LAST week, a post mortem of the recent conference of hauliers showed what was lost for lack of a guiding theme, which might well have been the formulation of i positive answer to the purely reactionary threat of the iocialists to return long-distance road haulage to public ownership when they get the chance. If the Prime Minister is as good as his word, the chance will not come for at east two years, and then the Socialists have still to win the 3 eneral Election.

There will be another road haulage conference next year in Torquay, and it is not too soon to consider whether there should be one main topic for discussion. What seems above everything else to demand special treatment in 1958 is the addition of road haulage to the list of national exports. It is perhaps another criticism of the resolutions at the Rothesay conference this year that none of them dealt with transport overseas. There is all the more reason that the subject should be given prominence the next time that the conference is held.

Alien Operators

Until not so very long ago, the haulier considered that his job came to an end when his vehicle reached the dock or airfield. Other forms of transport and alien operators took over responsibility at that point. When the official slogans took the line that we must export or die, the road haulage industry remained obstinately insular.

There was an explanation for this. Most hauliers were limited to a radius of 25 miles, and the unrestricted British Road Services were very much the junior partner in an organization that was supposed to be in process of integration.

In spite of this, there was some useful pioneer work, notably by the founders of what is now the Transport Ferry Service. Two events are helping to bring their work to fruition; one is the return of freedom in road haulage, and the other the proposal, which daily seems to become more likely, that Britain should be part of the European free trade area.

When this happens, the volume of traffic passing between England and the Continent will increase even more rapidly than at present. Those operators will capture a share of it who can save time and money spent on loading and unloading on and off ships and aircraft.

Different Proposition

At river crossings where there is no bridge or tunnel the haulier has sent his vehicles across by ferry, without questioning the economics. The Channel is a different proposition. The journey takes several hours, during which the tractive part of a vehicle is idle, and is taking up space that presumably has to be paid for. These considerations, reinforced by other more tangible difficulties, arising from differences in national regulations for the construction of vehicles, and from the unwillingness of other countries to admit more than a fixed quota of British vehicles, have inclined operators to the use of containers, trailers, or semi-trailers.

In spite of the problems, growing numbers of operators find ways and means for sending their own prime movers into every country of Europe, even behind the Iron Curtain. They are enthusiastic. They think nothing of taking the vehicle on the journey themselves, and they are already tackling the question of the return load.

What is being done in this way may play an important part in the future prosperity of the country, particularly if and when the free trade area becomes a reality. When there is no longer a wall of tariffs to protect native industries from Continental competition, the struggle for markets will grow fiercer. Partly because of lower wages, many foreign countries can produce goods much more cheaply than Britain.

Efficient, economical transport can help to keep the price gap narrow. Hauliers interested in opening up the trade routes across Europe may find that their charges, and the saving of time that they can offer, make all the difference when the decision is being reached to place an order. The choice of international transport as the theme for the next road haulage conference will, therefore, help to draw public attention to a development that is likely to affect everyone.

Suitable Subjects

The decision has just been reached by the Road Haulage Association to set up a committee or group composed of those members who, in their different ways, export road haulage. One of the first tasks for the committee might be to decide what aspects of their subject are most suitable for discussion at Torquay in 1958.

There is no lack of material. International agreements on the construction and use of goods vehicles need to be analysed so that manufacturers and bodybuilders in this country can be told exactly what is required. British drivers have to be made familiar with foreign highway codes. The licensing systems all over the Continent must be understood, so that full advantage can be taken of them by British operators.

Officials and members of the Association must develop a new frame of mind. Their boundaries are no longer the map of Great Britain. They may find new members among operators from abroad admitted to this country in accordance with whatever reciprocal arrangement is finally made. The work of the International Road Transport Union will assume greater importance, and become more widely known.

Within the Association, fresh opportunities for interworking and co-operation will be found, among members, with foreign operators, and with B.R.S. Relations with trade and industry will take on an added complexity. The three great trade associations in Britain have already published their preliminary views on the free trade area, and over a quarter of their document was devoted to the implications for transport.

Air Freighters

Operators will soon be pressing for new international facilities as earnestly as they demand new roads. They will need more ferries of the roll-on, roll-off type. Air freighters already find plenty of traffic. It may ultimately be possible, if not desirable, to fly over to Europe lorries completely loaded. Also in the fairly distant future is the prospect of a Channel tunnel.

Hauliers who have found their export markets the hard way may ask why they should now be expected to reveal what they have learned. They may be prepared. to agree that, as in many other 'fields, a public display of what they have achieved can bring them more business, as well as providing a positive reply to the people who claim the country would be better off if road haulage were nationalized.

Export Haulage

Page 183

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