How hauliers relate
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I refer to your article (CM July 7) concerning relationships between hauliers and forwarding agents, in relation to international road transport.
It appears, from your report, that hauliers, while castigating some forwarders for taking increases over and above "10 per cent of freight rates" from shippers, are not prepared to divulge, either to shippers or forwarding Agents, what their profit margins are. The figures of 10 per cent, supposedly retained by forwarding agents, is the figure 'accepted' only by hauliers. I feel that in the inter-relationship between forwarders and hauliers, it is up to each party to maximise their profit -margins, and should the haulier, having quoted and been given the rate for a certain journey, find lit unprofitable, he should blame his own costinge rather than beat the forwarder around the ears with the "more than 10 per cent" argument.
In transport, unlike the laws of physics, like forces tend to attract each other; that is to say that reputable forwarding agents deal on a continuing basis with reputable hauliers, whose service is known to be reliable, dealing tretrally at fair prices. After ail, a free market situation exists in the movement of freight by road, and if the haulier Is prepared to accept uneconomical rates because of spare capacity ex the need to place vehicles abroad for contracted return :loads, he is only submitting to market forces acting at the time in question.
All forms of international transport ere net enjoying the same levels of capacity as they ' did in 1974. The market is now more competitive, with price and service criteria being of equaltmportance. Provided that castings are accurately Made, eraultiers can either obtain the price for the economic use of their equipment or fall into the trap of working for whatever rate they can obtain. Those who take the latter course help to cause difficulties for those who take the former course.
Only those international hauliers who have specialised in movements to certain countries, or the carriage of a special !type of cargo, can be assured of regular work from forwarders. Gone are the days of the haulier who is prepared to go "anywhere with anything." This latter group enter areas of unknown, nonrecurring, costs which make the accurate assessment of job cost hazardous in the extreme.
If more international hauliers used their energy to plan more efficient and specialised operations, they would find that they have a service more easily marketable to the forwarding industry, who would then be obliged to pay fair rates for that specialisation.
We, ourselves, are international hauliers, who from the beginning of the company's formation have pursued the . policy outlined in the preceding paragraph. It has not been an unwise choice.