CHOOSE TODAY PAY TOMORROW

16th September 1966, Page 192

16th September 1966

Page 192

Page 193

Page 192, 16th September 1966 — CHOOSE TODAY PAY TOMORROW

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In other words some deterioration is continuing throughout the vehicle's life even though it is demonstrably roadworthy and still able to meet present and even future statutory requirements as to its fitness.

To some extent it is a matter of personal opinion as to just what this deterioration amounts to or how it can be defined but in an operator's terminology the older the vehicle the less likely he is to use it on his most urgent jobs. He has less confidence in its reliability and is not prepared to put it to the test in cases where the ability to deliver on time is of paramount importance.

But even if the standard of maintenance ensures that a vehicle is still reliable during the later stages of its working life, this could normally only be achieved after longer and longer periods off the road and correspondingly reduced availability in a revenue-earning capacity.

More recently there have been new developments which must have an important bearing on vehicle selection. Closely allied to the provision of adequate maintenance is the availability of skilled fitting staff. Currently such staff is both difficult to obtain and expensive to retain. For a variety of reasons there seems little likelihood of any improvement in this respect from the operator's point of view in the foreseeable future. Moreover, the more stringent statutory requirements now being imposed as to vehicle fitness will mean even higher standards.

With the wider application of the plating system to commercial vehicles and the difficulties and expense of undertaking conversions, even where this is possible, even more operators will have to weigh carefully which is the lesser of two evils: relatively premature replacement by a new vehicle already meeting modern standards; or facing the cost of converting an existing vehicle with a then problematically extended life.

As said earlier, the traffic carried must be a prime factor in determining the choice of vehicle. A feature of recent years has been the widening range of bodies of all types available to the commercial user. In addition to the tailormade product of the specialized bodybuilder, there is a wider range of bodywork in the standard range of the larger chassis manufacturers.

Chassis and body variety

As the many exhibits at this year's Commercial Motor Show reveal, there are an almost astronomical number of variables in combination of chassis and body. There can be hardly any set of operating conditions for which one of that large number of vehicles is not well suited. But, against that, the sheer number available for selection, could give rise to some confusion in the prospective purchaser's mind. To avoid such confusion it is advisable always to measure up a possible choice against its likely cost of operation allied to its revenue-earning capacity. Excellent though the opportunities afforded by the many exhibits at Earls Court when a choice has to be made, the selection of a commercial vehicle is just as much a commercial venture as the purchase of equipment for any other industrial purpose and must be assessed in that context throughout.

Although the type of traffic carried will obviously be an immediate determining factor, the size of load could give rise to alternative opinions. Because of the relatively high proportion of labour costs in the overall cost of operating a commercial vehicle and because the difference between the various weight categories of drivers' wages are comparatively marginal, the total operating cost per mile is nowhere near proportional to the pay load. For example, assuming an average of " 400 miles a week, the total cost of operating a two-tonner would be 17.48d., a fourtonner 18.99d. and a six-tonner 22.18d. On the score of economics alone, therefore, a proportion of partly-loaded running could, be tolerated if some full loads were available for the larger vehicles on occasion.

But more practical considerations could override a choice which might otherwise be made on the basis of economics alone. Thus, in this random example, because the fourand six-tonner are larger vehicles they may not be suitable due to limited access to the terminal points which have to be used. Alternatively, while there might be sufficient traffic to load them fully, the number of drops involved or congestion in the urban areas to which deliveries were to be effected might be such that the quantity which could be handled during a day would be determined by the time taken by the driver to make such collections and deliveries rather than the capacity of the vehicle.

Obviously, all factors affecting traffic to be carried and the limitations of access to terminal points will be peculiar to individual requirements and for that reason can be assessed relative to vehicle selection only by the individual operator concerned. But whatever the day-to-day operating conditions may be and however specialized the type of vehicle employed, the underlying principles of commercial vehicle costing will still apply. Moreover, they can and should be applied as an invaluable yardstick when endeavoui Mg to assess the true potentiality of a new commercial vehicli Understandably, and particularly now in view of the claret credit squeeze, the initial cost of new commercial vehicles wi loom large in the mind of a prospective purchaser. But even i these more stringent days this initial cost should be kept i perspective in relation to the subsequent task of operating i Taking again, for example, the two-tonner, the total operatin cost per mile when averaging 400 miles a week is 17.48c Assuming a mileage life of 100,000 (incidentally, five years' lif at this particular weekly mileage) then the total cost of operatin the vehicle throughout that period would be £7,287. But th initial outlay even when fitted with a box van would be aroun £1,140. So of a total of £8,427, the relatively small proportio of 15.64 per cent of this expenditure is incurred on the initial outla on the vehicle.

Such a percentage, of course, will vary according to th mileage run. Taking another example at the other end of th scale, namely an 18-ton artic averaging 1,000 miles a week an now assuming a vehicle life of 250,000 miles for this larger an heavier vehicle, its operating cost per mile is then estimated to b 27.01d. Over its whole working life, i.e. 250,000 miles, the opera: ing cost would then amount to £28,137. So despite the no, appreciable item of £5,390 as the initial outlay, the proportio of operating costs is still 80.85 per cent of the combined expend ture incurred in first purchasing the vehicle and then operating i

Next week further consideration will be given to operation; factors affecting vehicle selection.