ates report shows ick up in haulage
Page 23
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
:hat road haulage traffic in England d up considerably during the last half 972, although interrupted by the i-long August dock strike, is a main usion drawn from interviews with ge companies, major manufacturers listributors conducted by Mr Maurice ding and incorporated in his "Freight nation Services, Road Rates No. 5 Lry 1973" report.
e report states that the point is now reached where, with some hauliers it is At to find sufficient sub-contractors for ,ork available although this is not the ion countrywide, and there seems to be hortage of vehicle availability, for ice in East Anglia and the West try and parts of the Midlands. sport users themselves have not ienced difficulty in finding sufficient port for their needs.
le situation in Scotland is not so ant, the report observes. While there )een an increase in business, there is nuch spare capacity overall, and a big lance in the tonnage moving between and and England which continues to a depressing effect on rates for 1-bound traffic. Scottish hauliers have found no difficulty in obtaining traffic from England but there has been intense competition for traffic outwards from Scotland.
Discussing rates, the report notes that between July and December 1972 most increases negotiated were completed with 5 per cent dominating. Three factors had a restraining effect on negotiations for increased rates, viz the CBI 5 per cent "initiative" and the -November 6 prices freeze; the fact that the market was still very competitive; and the increased throughput now being experienced by all hauliers.
The last factor brought greater profitability resulting from the taking up of spare capacity and better vehicle utilization. As one haulier put it: "A few months ago I had three vehicles doing the work of two, but now there is work for all three. Whilst higher rates were welcome, the extra traffic that has come our way has contributed much more to company profits than a 5 per cent rates increase."
Road Rates are published twice yearly (annual subscription L5), obtainable from Freight Information Services, Formby, Liverpool 137 2JY.