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Haulage Rates Too Low, Admits Quarry Chief

9th April 1965, Page 37
9th April 1965
Page 37
Page 37, 9th April 1965 — Haulage Rates Too Low, Admits Quarry Chief
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

BY NORMAN H. TILSLEY nIJTCH auction " specialists, the prac tice of local authorities in calling for tenders every 12 months, suspicion between the quarries themselves and between hauliers and quarrymen had all contributed towards the unhappy state of affairs that exists at the moment in the Mendip quarries. These, and other reasons, were given to me by Mr. John Yeoman, managing director of one of the quarries concerned in the current rates battle in the Mcndips—Foster Yeoman Ltd.—this week. Accompanied by Mr. J. N. Cox, managing director of Cox's Mid-Somerset Transport Co. Ltd., I interviewed Mr. Yeoman at Dulcote Quarry (near Wells) on Monday. About 105 vehicles, on both Contract and open A licences, operate out of this quarry.

The meeting followed last week's appraisal by The Commercial Motor of the plight of, in particular, Contract A owner-drivers, and Mr. Yeoman alleged that 18 months ago there was hardly a quarry haulier who was not breaking the law in terms of overloading. And in doing this, he added, they were not making a bad living. However, when the Ministry started to clamp down on overloading it was stopped by most quarries and this, he said, had had the effect of a 10 per cent reduction in the earnings of practically every operator.

Because of fierce competition, quarry bosses in the area were fighting each other and customers were taking advantage of this, using " Dutch auction" methods to bring prices of materials, supplied on site, to rock bottom, he said. 1 was shown examples of invoices which indicated a drop of nearly 4s. a ton in the past three years. One particular item caught my eye—a job done in 1954 at 48s. 3d, a ton, including price of material and transport, which was now being undertaken at 43s. 9d. a ton.

Mr. Yeoman told me that his fear and difficulty was that any increase of rates— and he agreed that a rise .of at least 10 per cent was required immediately— had to be passed on directly to the customer. He could not do this alone because he was frightened at the prospect of losing business to another quarry in the area. " 1 agree ", he said, it has been very unfair to the haulage men, but you must have better rates and continuous employment for them. The two go hand in glove."

He thought that the quarries themselves could not go. on with the competition which existed today, and something had to be done. They had to get together to agree a common basis of rates, and at least two big quarry groups in the area had said that they were prepared to agree rates.

In common with several of the quarries in the area. Yeoman's had now got a transport committee which endeavoured to meet on the first Friday of every month "to thrash out major points at issue ". (Needless to say, the main talking point has been rates.) But this did not go nearly far enough to meet the problem, he said. The quarrymen had to join together to meet a representative body of hauliers from all quarries. They had to break down the distrust that existed. He was quite prepared to show his rates schedules to all his competitors --and indeed had already forwarded a copy to the Licensing Authority.

When asked whether such meetings could be held under the auspices of the RHA, Mr. Yeoman seemed a little hesitant. He said he had from time to time received circulars from the RHA which Were "rather like a cry in the dark ". The Western area secretary had written to him about a year ago saying that he wanted to discuss the matter of rates with him. Mr. Yeoman said he had in his turn invited the secretary to see him but had so far received no reply. (The secretary was not available for comment when I tried to contact him.) Mr. Yeoman asserted that he had also endeavoured to meet the new Licensing Authority, Mr. J. R. C. Samuel-Gibbon, to discuss rates. But such a meeting had been declined—understandably, perhaps, in view of the fact that applications were pending.

Dealing with the question of Contract A hauliers, Mr. Yeoman did not agree that their plight was worse than the Alicensed operators—all received the same rates and the same share of the work. He had, he assured me, the names of sonic 80 people on his books who wished to be considered as Contract A hauliers, What, then, can be done? Mr. Yeoman's advice was: " Hauliers should keep up the complaints and dissatisfactions. The Press should go on plugging away at highlighting all this," .

(During the interview Mr. J. N. Cox, of Cox's Mid-Somerset Transport, told Mr. Yeoman that the newly formed tipper group would be in a position to meet the quarrymen, as a body, in about three weeks' time.)


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