Apportioning Indirect Costs
Page 108

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THE complexity of apportioning indirect costs was emphasized by Mr. D. M. Dear, director of castings, British Transport Commission, when commenting on the comparative costs of road and rail transport.
Railways were essentially the mass producers of transport, whilst road transport could be considered as the tailormade service. Although operating costs might be lower, the railways were handicapped in matching capacities to requirements. The load factor often had the largest single effect on costs. In the passenger field, both road and rail providers should realize that their real competitor was not each other but the private motorist.
The efficiency of road haulage often stemmed from its ability to match the load capacity of the vehicle to individual requirements. Wh e r e consignments arrived in small lots, the additions to rail costs were even greater than those to road.