GETTIN G READY FOR T SEASON'S BEET CROP
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THE forcing effect of war `conditions is causing a rapid growth in the appreciation of the importance of the sugar-beet crop, and of the need for more efficient provision for its harvesting and its transport from the farms to the factories. Many minds are at work on the problem, all over the country. As I write conferences are being held in each of the counties in which this crop is grown, conferences at which the farmers, factories, hauliers and railways are all represented.
In London, Mr. R. W. Sewill, national director of Associated Road Operators, is meeting the representatives of the National Farmers Union and the British Sugar Corporation. Officials of the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Mines are also taking a share in the deliberations. There is, therefore, good ground for the belief that conditions in the forthcoming campaign will be much improved.
As is well known, the subject is one to which I have devoted a good deal of time and thought. Last year, I took a share in the arrangements which were made to meet the emergency conditions, and have, ever since the close of that campaign, been making notes and inquiries with a
A24 view to being in a position to make suggestions for what is now in front of us in this business.
I have been in touch with hauliers, railway officials and
representatives of the Ministry of Transport and of the factories. As a culminating effort r wrote, a few days ago, to some of my haulier friends, asking them a number of questions, so that I could collect their views on certain specific points. I have again had from them the maximum of help and assistance, but in many cases I have been requested not to divulge the source of the information,
As is well known, there was, last year, at only one factory, that at Allscott. Shropshire, a scheme in force whereby the road operators and the railways co-operated. The success of that plan was such that similar schemes will probably be put into operation elsewhere. It will be useful, therefore, to refer first of all to that plan and give the results of • its operation.
The plan arose as the result of the view held, in that locality, that, because of the black-out conditions, the effective period of loading would be reduced by as much as 33i. per cent. Moreover, at the commencement of the campaign it seemed
likely that there would be a real shortage of motor vehicles. In addition, of course, there was the limitation of petrol supplies. The parties concerned, therefore, set themselves to see how far both branches of transport could be utilized to the best advantage.
The first factor, a vital one, which must be given primary consideration in any such scheme, is the proportion of road and rail traffic which the factory is designed to accommodate. This is something which cannot quickly be altered. At Allscott, it was 60 per cent, road and 40 per cent. rail. . .
It was then discovered that the railways' road vehicles were too heavily engaged in other directions for them to undertake any road haulage,' even that of carting the beet from farms to stations. Provision, therefore, had to be made for the local hauliers to take over that part of the work.
The factory provided statistics of the beet to be grown and the location of the farms. Taking these figures in conjunction with the 60 per cent. and 40 per cent, by road and rail respectively, it was seen that 5. circle having a radius of 13 miles from the factory was the dividing line
between those loads which should be brought by road and those to come by rail. The inability of the railways to cater for the whole of the tonnage which would, under that allocation, be allotted to them, made it necessary to extend the circle to one of 15 miles radius. The farmers were asked to cart all beet, whether to station or factory, within a distance of one mile .from either.
Road haulage within the specified radius was to he organized by the Sub District Managers; that to stations was under the control of the local station-masters.' The factory agreed to supply full particulars of farms from which the beet was to be brought, with details of permits, etc.
One obvious result was that the hauliers were freed from the element of competition from the railways. They at once revised their rates, increasing them so that they showed a reasonable profit. The railway companies, for their part, agreed that they would frame their own scales of road-cumrail rates, so that nowhere did the total compete with any road rate within the radius of 15 miles, It was inevitable, of course, that border-line cases should arise. There were, for example, those farmers who had a bias towards one form of transport or the other; there were cases where beet allocated, under this scheme, to road, was grown very close to a station and of beet grown so far from a railwLy station that it was obvious that, notwithstanding the scheme, it should go direct by road. A committee comprising representatives of the M.O.T., factory and railways was formed to deal with those problems, which it did with all-round satisfaction.
.• When Hauliers Fought Shy •
Certain difficulties did arise and it is important to note them so 'that, in future schemes, they may be avoided so far as possible. One is that there was no one with authority to insist On the scheme being carried out in its entirety. Another which, I am afraid, reflects on my haulier friends, was that hauliers were shy of 'carrying out their 'part of the bargain in so far as it referred to cartage from farm to station.
A haulier deputed to carry such loads, if offered other work at a more remunerative rate, simply jettisoned the beet haulage and left high and dry the farmer concerned. However, there is this to be said. Haulage of beet over the short distances between . farm and local station partakes more of the nature of a job for a labourer than a haulier, because it is all loading and unloading. A considerably increased rate for such work seems to be the solution of that difficulty.
The factory officials were pleased with the working of the scheme. During the period of opening, from October 4 to January 10, the normal period, 150,000 tons of beet were delivered and 24,000 tons of pulp despatched. The farmers, as a whole, were satisfied because they were, in all
cases, sure of what the rate would be. In some other districts they reported that excessive rates were charged them, especially where it was known that the farmer concerned was compelled to have his beet in by a specified date. In the Eastern Counties, the problem was approached from another angle. Small committees, consisting of three leading hauliers, were formed in connection with each factory. These committees consulted with the factory officials whenever any problem arose. This scheme, also, was a success. The committees were met by the factory officials in a helpful spirit of co-operation, and improvement in the conditions was effected in a good many ways. It is universally agreed that this experiment should be repeated and, if possible, its scope extended.
• Making Plans Well in Advance • One improvement already suggested and, by this time, in force at some factories, is that the committees should begin operations before the season opens, so that plans can be Made ahead. That was not practicable last year, of course, because the season had almost commenced before the emer; gency arose and the need for some special provision was realized. The committees are getting to work already.
Most of my haulier friends have a good word to say on behalf of the factory executives. It does appear that considerable efforts were made to improve the conditions of unloading, so as to' avoid delays and obviate the' need for those long queues of vehicles which are so familiar a feature of the roads near all the factories during the season. Further improvements, however, are still possible and some are being effected in time for the forthcoming autumn.
In this connection it Should be pointed out that the elimination of the need for manual unloading or, at least, its diminution, is most desirable. Provision for the load to be tipped does not meet the case, for a minority only of the vehicles employed consists of tipping wagons.
There is no doubt that washing the beet out of the vehicle is the most expeditious way of unloading. Hitherto I have always understodd that there was a limit to the tonnage that could be dealt with in this way, that being the amount which could be tackled in the processing of the beet in the factory'. I gather that it is also possible to arrange that beet can be washed out of the lorries into the silos or flumes and kept there, just as it is when it is unloaded in the ordinary. way. If this he true, then there is 'available, ,in that method, a means for reducing to a minimum waiting time at the factories.
Factory officials are insistent that the beet could be delivered in fewer vehitles—some say half the number now employed—and that such reduction would effect an all-round improvement in the conditions. Most knowledgeable hauliers agree. The causes of the excess in the number of vehicle 4 are, however, many and various. None of them can easily be removed. They are lack of uniformity in the hours at which the factories are open for deliveries, imperfections of the permit system under which those deliveries are effected and, most important, the use, mainly by the smaller class of haulier and, particularly, by the farmer who hauls his own beet, of vehicles too small for the work.
Lack of uniformity means that hauliers who are within reach of more than one factory organize their individual deliveries so that they can take advantage of one factory being open when another is closed, and that results in a rush of vehicles to a particular factory at those times. If the permit system be, as is usually the.case, a two-day one, the haulier tries to get as much beet as he can in on the first day, leaving himself free to do other work on the second.
Hauliers with small contracts, say one delivery per week, naturally make that day the one on which they are likely to be short of other work. Unfortunately, it means that almost all the hauliers in a particular district choose the same day, because on the other days of the week they are probably all engaged on market work.
• Small a/epicles Have Their Drawbacks •
That small vehicles are a nuisance is obvious. It lakes as long to weigh and check in a 3-thriller asa 16-tonner and, with assisted loading, little more time to unload the latter than the former. That increases the congestion where there are many small vehicles in use.
There appears to have been a general tendency for rates to increase. In most districts, increases have been accepted by the farmers as inevitable and just, having in mind the hauliers' increased costs. In the majority of cases the rate was increased by a specified percentage through the whole range of leads.
That is not the appropriate way to deal with the problem. The effect of increasing costs is accentuated as the length of lead decreases, and a better plan is to add a fixed amount, say Is, or so per ton, to all the rates. One haulier went farther and, whilst he increased the rate for short leads by ls., he added only 3d. per ton to the rate for leads of upwards of 25 miles.
Merely to add a fixed amount to prevailing rates in any area had this defect. Hauliers who have been working at uneconomic rates still remain •a, menace to their fellows who try to make a profit from the work, for the addition is often insufficient even to bring their new rates up to the level of the old rates of the more sensible operator who is working at a profit.
These discrepancies, and the difficulty of meeting the rising costs of haulage merely by adding a flat rate, whether percentage or fixed amount, to existing rates, would appear to emphasize the need for preparing and agreeing a set of rates which shall be stabilized and, in some way, definitely en to reed .
It is, however, pointed out by many experienced hauliers that there are serious 'difficulties in the way of stabilizing rates for this traffic, on a mileage or any other basis. Of the many problems which will have to be solved by those. who attempt to stabilize beet-haulage rates two stand out distinctly.
First, it is nearly as cheap to haul over a 20-mile lead as it is over a three-mile lead. In the case of the short. haul the proportion of loading and unloading time is excessive. Moreover, the work may be hard, both operations having to be performed by hand. The men get tired and cannot work so fast. On the long hauls there is a reasonable
rest period in between each delivery and the work is more expeditiously done.
Secondly, the provision made for loading is important. It was roundly stated by one particularly expert haulier that he might ,easily be able to quote half-a-crown less to one of two neighbouring farmers, because one makes better provision for loading, especially when mechanical loaders are provided. The difference might easily be sufficient to enable him to cart three 15-ton loads per. day from one farm, as against only two from the other.
Rate-cutting was not so prevalent. Most of that which occurred was due to the incursions of hauliers from outside the district concerned. There are two ways in which the tendency to cut is maintained. In one, a haulier subcontracts to another, and takes a substantial rake off. The fanner gets to know what the subcontractor is getting and concludes that that is all he need pay. .
Or, again, a haulier agrees to cart beet for his best customer at a fair rate and, by good salesmanship, gets him to agree to a rise on account of cost increases. The farmer is quite happy about it until, in conversation with his neighbour, he learns that beet is being carted from a field next to one of his own for as much as 2s. fid. less per ton.
That starts trouble, which often results in the sound haulier having to cut to meet the farmer's grumble. The fact that the neighbouring farmer is providing labour and, possibly, mechanical equipment for loading is not acceptable to him in justification of the difference in rate, although it may be just that which is at the bottom of it.
Co-operation between groups of hauliers serving individual factories is as far from achievement as ever, at least as a means for regulating deliveries. There are certainly some practical difficulties in the way. Many hauliers work their beet transport in conjunction with their local traffic and, thus, can give no positive guarantee as to. the times at which they would deliver at the factory.
Others serve several factories and arrange their deliveries so as to cut out empty running. With co-operative working rigid times would be enforced and would render that course impossible. Further, no co-operation amongst hauliers would eliminate the difficulty of the farmer delivering his own beet, and that is one of the serious problems of this traffic.
• Shortage of Drivers Must Be Faced • There is serious risk that, next season, there will be a shortage of drivers of heavy vehicles. That is a problem which should be faced now, before it is too late, for there is no doubt that the haulage of beet is a very necessary part of war-time internal operations, which nothing ought to be allowed to disturb.
In view of the foregoing, it is to he recommended, first, that the Allston plan of road-rail co-operation be extended; secondly, that the Eastern Counties plan of factorycommittee formation be applied to every factpry; thirdly, that the factories endeavour to improve unloading arrangements, especially by way of extending the use of the Ella; fourthly, that farmers be pursuaded to make more extensive use of the mechanical loaders and discouraged from using their own vehicles; fiethly, that provision be made now to ensure a supply of drivers for next season.