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Potteries' H iers Must Stand Together

By P. A. C. Brockington, A.M.I.Mech,E.

ALTHOUGH the traffic from the Potteries was described to me as presenting a `.` concise local problem," the difficulties associated with it are, in fact, complex. There is ample evidence that a minority of local operators is tackling a part of the problem with vigour and foresight, but in the opinion, of many manufacturers and some leading hauliers, lack of co-operative action could eventually be highly detrimental to the cause of denationalization.

One important manufacturer portrayed the development of private-enterprise transport between the wars as a "miracle in a lifetime," and added that it was a national tragedy that men who had given their lives to transport had been forced by nationalization to turn their attention to other activities. The sane manufacturer spoke of the confusion in transport in the early days of State monopoly before the pottery industry initiated the process of "forming Brititt Road Services to its own needs." , The blunderings of the State service were more quickly rectified in the Potteries than in other parts of the country, it was reported, because the manufacturers had a unified purpose which could be clearly stated and because their demands had a comparable authority. The increase in B.R.S. rates for potteryware since nationalization is 17i per cent. below the national average rise, despite the general insistence that low rates are secondary to good service.

Bargaining Power

Although the possibility of forming a Potteries' co-operative transport undertaking was mentioned as a "pipe dream " by a spokesman of the potteryware producers, it is evidence of the power of group decision that is vested in a body of businessmen controlling a closely knitindustry of national importance in the export field. The bargaining power possessed by such a group could, it was suggested by one manufacturer, be used most effectively and fairly when the transport supplies were represented by a central authority. So far, he asserted, private-enterprise hauliers had not shown any sign of getting together.

The continued backing of some of the larger potteryware manufacturers should enable a number of hauliers concentrating on this class of traffic progressively to expand an already efficient service, but according to an influential haulier in the area, even the basic 'concept of local inter-working in embryonic form is lacking. He described the present state Of fret-enterprise transport D16

as a mess" and considered that denationalization as distinct from freeing A licences, represents a mistaken policy on the part of the Government. His criticism of fellow hauliers was inspired by first-hand knowledge of illegal practices, particularly with regard to drivers' hours and back-loading contract vehicles. -He was unwilling to regard the existing situation as a passing phase.

The great expansion of potteryware output in the Five Towns (there are, in fact, six towns, comprising Stoke-onTrent, Tunstall, Burslem, Hanley, Longton and Fenton in a radius of four miles) has been largely achieved by better manufacturing methods, without, in many instances, any improvement in dispatch facilities. Immediate collection is, therefore, generally essential to the maintenance of production, and the availability of storage space is an important consideration. Moreover, because a big percentage of the ware is exported, damp must he avoided at all costs and storage must be under cover. Crates delivered to the docks are returned if the litmus test indicates an unacceptable moisture content. Nineteen crates in one shipment were sent back to the manufacturer because one was damp.

Most manufacturers do not possess warehouses and private enterprise could not meet the general require. ments of the industry without the use of adequate storage space. B.R.S. offer a storage-transport service which was highly praised by many manufacturers with whom I discussed denationalization during my tour of the Potteries, as well as by some private hauliers who had operated under' contract to B.R.S. The cost of providing storage spaceis • beyond the means of the smaller hauliers individually and apparently they depend mainly upon B.R.S. for their traffic unless they concentrate on other types of product.

A dearth of suitable storage space was described a.s great handicap to cooperative working for the potteryware and other trades by Mr. .1. Gregg, manager of Potteries Independent Road Transport, Ltd. The company work in close collaboration with member concerns of the Road Haulage Association's clearing-house group, particularly those in the East Midland and London areas. Mr. Gregg considered that joint working arrangements offered small hauliers the best means for achieving collective efficiency and for stabilizing rates. He confirmed that many hauliers were not alive to the value of interworking.

To the manufacturer who described his traffic as "mainly oddments," B.R.S. have created order out of the chaos which they were responsible for introducing. Before nationalization, private operators could be relied upon to deliver a consignment the size of a cigarette package to any remote destination. B.R.S. were giving good service, he said, but not equal to that standard. Why, he asked, were hauliers not returning to longdistance transport in greater numbers, and then suggested that they were "lying low to await developments."

Potteryware traffic can be divided into five different categories. These comprise sanitary earthenware, such as water closets packed in open crates; crated earthen. ware and china, which are packed in casks with a laden weight of around a ton; large and small tiles, which are often dispatched in small consignments to "outlandish " destinations in this country; bulk loads of fireclay ware and large earthenware pieces such as household sinks; and porcelain insulators for the electrical industry, which are produced in very large and very small sizes.

More Certain Delivery Increasing use has been made of road transport since the war, the main reason being, in the words of a prominent manufacturer, the " terrific " cost of the additional packing when the goods are sent by rail. Quicker and more certain delivery is another advantage of road transport, particularly when the destinations are scattered.

Older members of the R.H.A. referred with pride to the rates schedule for the Potteries that was compiled in 1948 after consultations with local traders, and quickly became, it is claimed, the "only schedule in the country to be generally recognized and to be accepted as the basis for operational planning." B.R.S., said hauliers, found the schedule of inestimable value when they took over long-distance transport. A revised schedule is being prepared and will, it is hoped, help to stabilize rates, particularly with regard to certain types of industrial traffic. Pending its completion and acceptance, selective rate-cutting by B.R.S. is causing confusion.

No Cuts in Rates?

This possibly explains why I had difficulty in establishing representative percentage figures for privateenterprise rates compared with B.R.S. rates. 1 was informed by a number of hauliers that potteryware manufacturers did not expect rate reductions while boom conditions prevailed, which was confirmed by one of the larger makers. Another said that transport economics were constantly under review and that traders were studying ways of reducing costs.

Whilst it is impossible to ignore the comments of the old-established haulier who decried denationalization, visits to other operators with comparatively large fleets in the Five Towns area convinced me that his statements were based on too narrow a view of present privateenterprise activities and future possibilities. Judging by information provided by these hauliers, another "miracle in a lifetime" is not an impossibility. They comprise-a substantial body of operators with planned objectives who disdain a lying-low policy.

It was a foregone conclusion that when

Mr. K. Beresford decided to return to long-distance transport he would recognize the possession of adequate warehousing space as a prerequisite to the carriage of potteryware. Mr. Beresford is the nephew • of the founder of ,John Beresford and Sons, who established the concern in TunstalI in 1865, and was transport manager of the Hauliers, Ltd., group of companies (which included Beresford, Caddy and Pemberton, Ltd.) when they were nationalized in 1949.

Until 1952 he was a traffic superintendent of B.R.S. and then formed Beresford Transport, Ltd.. with premises in Tunstall, to run under C-hiring margins. Last year he purchased 30 lorries with special A licences, and the combined fleet now comprises 40 vehicles. Types include Sentinel, Leyland, Foden, Thornycroft, Vulcan, Bedford and Seddon lorries of 8-ton to 15-ton capacity, four of which are provided with trailers. The Sentinels form the largest number of one make and have given good service.

Earthenware for Export Two warehouses and. a garage were erected on premises with an area of three acres, and storage is available for 2,500 to 3,000 packages, depending on size. The consignments mainly comprise earthenware in crates destined for export from Merseyside, where a Beresford office is now under the management of Mr. D. L. Johnstone, formerly a member of the staff of Beresford, Caddy and Pemberton.

Crates are collected in 5-ton vehicles and held in the warehouse pending forwarding instructions from the shipping agent. About 95 per cent. of the traflic is for Merseyside and no difficulty is experienced in the collection of back-loads. which include flour direct from the mills, and other provisions from warehouses. Three veh;cles are normally available for collection and delivery in Liverpool.

An executive of one of the largest pottery manufacturers in the area compared Beresford's Merseyside service favourably with that of B.R.S., with emphasis on delivery time, which has been reduced from over seven days to a guaranteed 24 hours. Of equal importance is a comparative freedom from breakage, which enables contracts to be completed with greater certainty.

Union Conditions Enforced Relations with the British Transport Commission, in connection with the purchase of vehicles from B.R.S., were described by Mr. Beresford as "happy," most of the lorries having so far been in reasonably good

condition. Drivers receive union rates of pay, and union conditions of work are strictly enforced.

Competition with B.R.S. is keen and there is no interchange of traffic. Mr. Beresford was convinced, he told me, that private enterprise could, and would, meet any deficiencies created by denationalization and would eventually offer a superior countrywide service. He admitted, however, that the delivery of oddments

presented a problem that might be difficult to sblve.

Views among hauliers differ regarding the desirability of active co-operation with B.R.S. Mr. A. J. Dale, of Dale and Drake, Ltd., Longton, who hire vehicles to an associated haulage company, Longton and North Staffs Transport, Ltd. (The Commercial Motor, February 25), considered that free hauliers could independently re-establish a service that would be more efficient than that offered before nationalization, given freedom and stability. Mr. F. S. Cooper, of J. L. Cooper, Ltd., Milton, was equally confident that private enterprise was capable of restoring a full-scale service without B.R.S.

co-operation. Both companies have ample warehousing facilities.

Mr. A. Davey, of A. and H. Davey (Roadways), Ltd., Stoke-on-Trent, was in favour of co-operating with B.R.S., which could provide, he pointed out, a national clearing-house system of benefit to the haulage industry. He had already found B.R.S. depots most helpful in pr ov iding back-loads at fair rates.

Mr. R. G. Bassett, of. Bassett's Roadways, Ltd., Tittensor, also considered that a State-controlled clearing-house network would foster efficiency and stability, and he-approved the principle of inter-working with B.R.S. to carry certain traffic. In his opinion, B.R.S. might, With advantage, retaina fair share of the potteryware traffic. "

Another haulier Who operates a number of vehicles on local work and has two lorries with special A licences felt strongly that round-table talks with B.R.S. should immediately be started to seek agreement on rates. In his view, the retention of a " strong" State undertaking would "'remove transport from politics."

Fifteen Thornycroft lorries with capacities ranging from 6 tons to 15 tons comprise the fleet operated by Longton and North Staffs Transport, Ltd., compared with 40 vehicles before nationalization, when a depot in London and an office in Liverpool greatly facilitated traffic organization and interworking with local carriers to maintain delivery services.

'Routine Job Services that . have been resumed include a nightly trunk run to London (where a new office was recently opened), and a day service to Liverpool, and Mr. Dale was convinced that .the handling of small consignments would again be a routine job when denationalization had reached a more advanced stage.

A distribution service is operated from the warehouse of an associated company to an area bounded by Wilmslow, Oswestry and Lichfield. When the former company, LongtonTransport, Ltd., was acquired in 1949, about 75 per cent. of the traffic was potteryware, but now the greater part is industrial goods.

A factor favourable to transport economy in the Potteries, Mr. Dale pointed out, was the availability of labour for loading after normal working hours. This applies to loading in the evenings and on Saturday mornings, which compare favourably with arrangements in most areas.

New Warehouse Built A warehouse built tb the plans of the company on a 1-acre plot, which includes undercover accommodation for vehicles and workshop facilities, is a recent addition to the premises of J. L. Cooper, Ltd., who will use the warehouse partly for the storage of potteryware awaiting transport to Liverpool and London for export overseas.

Of a total of 36 vehicles operated by J. L. Cooper and two striall subsidiary companies, A-licensed vehicles include -four Leyland and A.E.C. lorries of 8-ton to 10-ton-capacity, 17 Bedfords of the platform or dualpurpose-tipper type .in the 6-ton to 8-ton class, and a tiedford 10-tonner. Two of the smaller lorries are used for collection.

Cattle food is back-loaded from Liverpool, and consignments are also collected from clearing houses. After runs to Birmingham, cement is collected at Leamington for the return journey.

With a fleet of 16 lorries and two trailers up to 10-ton capacity running on special A licences, Mr. A. Davey_ of A. and H. Davey (Roadways), Ltd., concentrates on industrial traffic (with a fair percentage of glazed tiles) for deliveries to the south, including Kent, Sussex. Hampshire and South Wales. He also operates a daily service to Merseyside, and a nightly service to London.

The larger vehicles in the fleet comprise A.E.C. and E.R.F. lorries of 8-ton to 10-ton capacity, and other makes include Foden, Thornycroft, Morris-Commercial and Guy, all of them 6-tonners. When the company was nationalized in 1950, the fleet numbered six lorries. including two eight-wheelers.

Although Mr.. Davey welcomed the facilities that B.R.S. depots provide for back-loading, and considered that the State service should retain more than 3,500 vehicles, he was critical of their selective rate-cutting. He was confident, however, of continued full-scale operation because traders valued the personal service and quick delivery he could offer.

Friendly Relations Mr. George Swanick, an ex-B.R.S. driver employed by Mr. Davey, was genuinely appreciative of the advan. tages of having a private-enterprise boss. "I like it,he told me. "1 know what I've got to do and when Eve got to do it." Friendly relations with the fitters, and the strict rule that no vehicle leaves the workshops with a mechanical fault, however small, were also mentioned by Mr. Swanick as factors that created confidence.

Back-loads include raw materials for potteryware manufacturers, which are collected direct from the suppliers. Some use is made. of clearing houses, those who operate their own vehicles being given preference whenever possible. No inter-working arrangements have yet been made with other free hauliers, t.it this is envisaged as a -probable development.

An operational base at Stafford enabled Grayswood Transport, Ltd.. an associated company of L. J. Bassett. and Son, Lld., to continue a service on a limited scale between the Potteries and Birmingham when L. J. Bassett's 38 vehicles were acquired by the B.T.C. in 1949.

Target of 25 Vehicles Formed since denationalization, Bassett's Roadways, Ltd., now operate an independent long-distance service. The combined Bassett-Grayswood fleet numbers 30 vehicles, 10 of which are operating on special-A or open-A licences. These include Fodens, E.R.F.s arid Bedfords of 6-ton to 15-ton capacity. Mr. R. G. Bassett's target for the Bassett fleet is 25 vehicles with special A licences.

The base at Tittensor is conveniently situated for Midlands-Merseyside traffic about half-way between Birmingham and Liverpool. This is particularly advantageous in respect of driver's schedules, for both Birmingham and Liverpool drivers are employed, and they can return home at the completion of a day's run after a change of vehicles at Tittensor. Moreover, they have a useful first-hand knowledge of their respective districts.

The company's Birmingham office that was in use before nationalization has also been taken over from B.R.S., and Mr. Bassett intends to re-establish an office in Liverpool as soon as possible. Many old customers in both districts are again employing-the Bassett -service on this route, which represents the company's main interest in long-distance transport. Although tiles are included in the goods carried, the bulk of the traffic comprises chemicals, ceramics, foodstuffs, cattle food and general merchandize.