TRANSPORT COSTS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 24 November 1939, Page 6

TRANSPORT COSTS

BEARING ON INDUSTRY & EMPLOYMENT EXAMPLE OF TIMBER HANDLING CRITICISM OF RAILWAYS DEPARTMENT. NEED OF MORE MODERN METHODS. At the sitting of the No. 2 Transport Licensing Authority (Mr P. Skoglund) in Masterton yesterday. Mr E. M. Hodder attended on behalf of Messrs C. E. Daniell. Ltd., in support of an application for licences for two motor vehicles with which the firm might cart its own goods from Masterton to Wellington and from Wellington back to Masterton or thereabouts. Besides speaking in support of the particular application, Mr Hodder criticised an alleged failure on the part of the Railways Department to adopt up-to-date methods which would cheapen transport and handling costs. Dealing at length with the question of timber transport. Mr Hodder said the two classes of timber affected were white pine and pinus insignis, of which ovei - 100,000 superficial feet per month, on an average, had been transported to Wellington from the Wairarapa during the past five years, nearly all by road. ‘Tn the case, of timber,” Mr Hodder stated, ‘‘there is a very large amount of labour involved in handling, and by road this labour is reduced to a minimum, thereby causing substantial savings. In the case of road transport, timber is loaded by us mechanically, the’only actual handling being when it is put off at its destination. Under the present system by rail it is necessary to load each piece of timber on to the truck by hand, do the same thing again at the receiving station on to a lorry, and then a third handling at its final destination. The present system. of handling timber by rail is the same as it was fifty years ago. No attempt has been made to improve it in any shape or form. We recognised that to facilitate handling by road and to keep the cost on the lowest basis, it would be necessary to cut out the tedious labour of loading and at the same time give quick dispatch. Accordingly we erected a special crane for the work which loads a lorry in a few minutes. In ten minutes a lorry can be loaded, roped and away with the same load which takes one hour, twenty minutes to put on to a railway truck by hand. During that ten minutes, also, the lorry can be serviced with petrol, oil, air, etc., if required.” Having touched further on factors of lessened damage to timber by reduced handling and of quickened delivery, which had been an important factor in building up trade, Mr Hodder said the extra cost of transporting timber from Masterton to Wellington by rail as compared with road was approximately 3s Id per hundred superficial feet. The details were:— Railway Masterton to Wellington, 4s 2d. Average delivery charge in Wellington, Is fid. Extra cost loading. Masterton. fid. Total. 6s 2d per 100 superficial feet. The cartage rate direct had been 3s Id per hundred superficial feet. It was quite possible that the heavy increase in cost which must be added to this timber if it were to be transported by rail at normal rates might well mean the virtual wiping out of thi4 class of business from the Wairarapa. “We have a large number of men employed in our sawmilling activities,” Mr Hodder added, “and without the milling of pinus insignis it would be impossible for us to find full time employment for them. In fact, even with this timber it has become necessary now to search very much further afield for supplies, all of which will, in turn, make its working more costly. It is, therefore, more than ever necessary for the cheapest form of transport to be available if this trade is to continue. In this case the cheapest form of transport is the one which gives far and away the best service, a service in fact which, by its very restricted nature, the railways cannot equal.” Mr Hodder went on to make the following observations in criticism of the policy and methods of the Railways Department:— DELAYS IN DELIVERY. "On the average with general goods it takes approximately two days longer to secure delivery by rail as against road transport. There are instances of quick and efficient service by rail, but they are the exception,-siot the rule. “Frequently goods are held at Masterton for a day or more before delivery can be secured—this is due to congestion of goods, e.g„ some goods which arrived at the station on Saturday last, could not Ire obtained till Tuesday last. “There is also delay at times in getting timber away from .Masterton by rail, due to shortage of trucks. During the last fortnight we have had timber returned from the station on two occasions because no trucks were available —this in spite of arrangements having been made beforehand. The seasonal demand for trucks is a factor which is adversely affecting the service we should give our customers. We are afraid this periodic shortage of rolling stock may become a very serious matter. CONDITION OF GOODS. “In general the delivered condition of goods by rail is not so good as where they are delivered by road. This is not to be wondered at as the extra, handling involved must affect the condition. Recently in a truck from Wellington to Masterton, out of 167,E.W. pipes and fittings, 14 were completely smashed, due, we think, to movement in the truck of a case of iron which was loaded on its edge. This class of goods is, of course, carried on the rail at “owner’s risk," and negligence must be proved before any claim is recognised. Cement is also a commodity which frequently arrives in bad condition when transported by rail. We have often made suggestions xyhich would eliminate a good deal of the trouble with cement, but after 30 years of trying there is still no improvement. EXTRA COST. “The carriage of goods by rail instead of road has meant an increase in transport costs of practically all lines handled by us. In addition extra costs are also involved in handling.

from rail to store. These extra costs must all be paid by the purchaser at a time when it is desirable in the national emergency to reduce costs rather than raise them. It is interesting here to note that a 51b parcel by rail from Wellington to Masterton costs Is 2d, whereas the same parcel is carried by the Post Office from Auckland to the Bluff for Id more. A porcelain enamel bath which today costs 13s 3d to bring by rail from Petone to Masterton, was previously delivered right into store from the works by road for 6s Id. “The rate for general goods by rail Wellington to Masterton is 42s 9d per ton, whereas: the same goods by road were 28s 7d. LABOUR SAVING METHODS.’ “Unfortunately, officials of the Railways Department are not receptive to suggestions made for the improvement of its service to the public. We have made various suggestions in the past which would have increased the value of rail transport and made it more attractive to users, but always the result is the same —nothing done. "There seems to be a lack of any real desire to improve the service. The following suggestions are made: — (a) Scrap existing crane which has been on exhibition at Masterton Railway Station for 40 years and which never has been of much use, and install a really good machine. (b) Install a suitable crane for the loading of timber and unloading. (c) Load cement from the ship direct into rail trucks to avoid extra handling, transport cost and dam-’ age. (d) Eliminate all the small extra charges in the way of craneage fees, etc. (e) Proposal made to Mr Mackley for the more expeditious and less costly handling of all goods in the Wairarapa. (f) Proposal made to Mr Mackley for real co-operation between road and rail in the Wairarapa. Both of these proposals were outlined to the General Manager some four years ago, but he was not prepared even to discuss them. “We believe the railways have a very definite place in the transport of goods in this district, provided progressive methods are used and labour saving plant installed. Whether we like it or not. we arc all shareholders in the New Zealand Railways and should aid their development io the limit of our ability. We cannot help feeling that the best method of improving rail transport would be healthy road competition.” MR SKOGLUND’S SUGGESTION. Mr Skoglund said that no information had been produced by Mr Hodder, showing that the company could carry out the service cheaper than the railways. In cases like that under review where the applicant was a good customer of the railways, if negotiation were opened with the Railways Department there would be a good chance of getting concessions on back-loading. Mr Hodder: “The question of service is the main issue—not the cost.” “It is most unfortunate that Mr Hodder should have levelled criticism at the General Manager of the New Zealand Railways. Mr G. H. Mackley, which I. take strong exception to," said Mr L. L. Smith. Suggestions, he added, were readily acceptable to the Department. In regard to the industry concerned, he would be pleased to nego-. tiate with all parties concerned. . Mr Hodder was asked to prepare and submit an estimate of the cost of the firm operating its own trucks.