European Ministers "Sharply Divided"
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THE European Conference of Transport Ministers had been sharply I divided over the past few years. Two opposing groups consisted of the central area, based mainly on Germany and France, and the remaining countries on the fringe of the Continent.
This was stated by Mr. Henry Gerson (Pall Mall Deposit and Forwarding Co., Ltd.) at the annual conference of the British Association of Overseas Furniture Removers in Bournemouth, last week.
Whilst the first group realized that any future increase in international traffic would result in a large number of vehicles wishing to pass through their countries, the interests of removers in nations on the perimeter would often be concerned with traffic originating in their own countries to be delivered to some other extremity of Europe, said Mr. Gerson.
Continental removers were used to working over long distances-800 or 1,000 miles. The difficulty of such operation lay in arranging return loads. This could be complicated by variations in the cost of fuel and labour in the various countries.
Fuel was cheaper in Holland than in Belgium, with the result that a Dutch operator could undercut a Belgian remover when negotiating for a return load to his own country. A similar situation could arise as between France and Germany, or Italy and Switzerland.
Mr. Gerson warned British removers that they would have to get accustomed to seeing Continental vans in this country, as well as arranging for their own to operate on the Continent.
Continental operators had extremely elaborate tariffs, with some measure of legal sanction. The continued increase in the size of vehicles in Germany had defeated removers' ends. There was now a severe restriction on overall weight, and a prohibition of movement between Saturday and Sunday midnight. This latter restriction could greatly hamper foreign operators travelling through Germany.
This country was now bound to declare a network of roads in Britain over which vehicles of internationally recognized size could onerate. It could be expected that the first-class main roads would be designated for this purpose.
Countries with State-owned railways wanted the same responsibility which had to be accepted by the railways placed on road operators.
As an alternative to arranging complete Continental removals, members of the Association might ultimately have to act as agents for their customers, to whom they would render a consolidated account.
This would include items for packing, van hire, carriers' bills—whether by rail, sea or road—and the cost of the final delivery to the customers' premises. Mr. Gerson emphasized that this could well be a major complication.
The use of the expendable type of lift van was being extended in the United States. This was stated by Mr. Ivan Sparks (W. Sparks and Son, Ltd., Ottawa) when introducing a film depicting new American methods.
Such vans could be of 180-cu.-ft. capacity, and consisted of corrugated cardboard with a plywood floor. It was necessary to educate the customer to want a better service so that he would be prepared to pay for the cost of modern packing methods.
Standardization of containers assisted the adoption of a systematic routine, said Mr. Sparks. •