PainSmith
Posts: 53
Joined: 12/30/2007
From: the Republic
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quote:
ORIGINAL: LadyEllen
The problem is, these hauliers are working but are not able to get price increases from customers to cover the increased costs - how many times in each month can one ask the customer for a price increase? Hence my comment about the hauliers' failure to predict the obvious.
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And this has a knock on effect of course; if the haulier needs a price increase on a daily basis as fuel escalates, then the customer needs a price increase on a daily basis from his customer. Somewhere down the line, the end consumer must pay more today for his bread than yesterday, and more tomorrow than today. At the moment, we are paying more for our bread day by day, supposedly on account of fuel costs - yet the hauliers it would seem are seeing none of these added charges. The great problem with this argument is that, underneath it all, it ignores the fact that fuel prices are going up for the hauliers' competitors. They're paying these price rises too. If one transporter can manage the situation, and another one can't and whinges about it, which one is being competent?
Of course the customer has to pay more if the transport costs more. The effect will be pressure to reduce costs by reducing transportation, e.g. increase local sourcing of goods. The hauliers' long distance market will contract. Their short distance market will expand. This is a perfectly reasonable and predictable consequence of rising oil prices. Why haven't the protesting hauliers predicted it, and adjusted their business accordingly? Why are they whinging instead?
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It just may be that customers have gone elsewhere to move their goods - but then we must consider that no one in UK can have a truck standing idle - theyre very expensive even standing still. Yesterday's protest will have cost the hauliers concerned around £1000-00 per vehicle. There is no such thing as oversupply in this sector - oversupply goes bust within days. So you accept these hauliers are business operators? They operate small businesses? Small businesses going under is not exactly uncommon. It's part of the risk you take when you set up a business---after all, if things work out, you become very rich indeed. If you're going to play the capitalist game by setting up a business, don't come crying for socialist support if the business has problems. Deal with the problems, or move on.
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But there is another element to this - customers can have their goods delivered by west European trucks within the UK; and we must remember these UK hauliers are purely UK national operators (we have no international truckers since theyre all replaced by east Europeans). West European trucks, with imported cheaper fuel and lower operating costs, can undercut our own people on our home ground, whilst our people can do nothing in their markets due to the closing of ranks against Brits. Just wait till April 09, when the east Europeans can do the same national transport within UK at even lower cost. I have never understood why people give this argument any weight. It presumes the border between Europe and the UK is a line. It's not, it's rather a lot of water, and crossing that water costs rather a lot of time and money. Any European truck with European fuel has to pay this money to get across the channel. If it was really worthwhile to do that to get British trade, then it would happen the other way too; British trucks would cross the channel to fuel in France. They don't. Why don't they? Because the cost is too high. The argument makes no sense to me.
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There are several problems facing the industry
1) road transport in full loads is a commodity by way of legislation
2) customers play the market relentlessly, knowing that because the service is a commodity, price is the only competitive factor - this tends to force prices downwards against a backdrop of rising costs
3) foreign hauliers dont pay a penny to use our roads, and bring their own fuel in at lower cost than UK fuel
4) public dislike for trucks (fostered by green politicians who cant blame motorists for congestion and pollution since motorists vote)
5) fragmentation - everyone is facing the same problems, yet there is such fragmentation that unity is rarely possible; whilst I am protesting, someone else will steal my business from under me for instance. That issues like this produce unity is therefore a signal that there really is an issue here. Ok, to answer some of the points:
1) I know nothing about this
2) So the problem is customers outwit hauliers? So it's the 'business-stupid' hauliers who've got problems? As the old cliche goes, business is war. If you're no good at running a business, you shouldn't be running a business.
3) I've already dealt with the fuel argument. In terms of relative road taxation, there's a point there I accept. I suggest you ask the government to follow the Swiss, and insist on an extra tax for all hauliers who use British roads, not just British ones. But do you really want extra tax?!
4) Public dislike for noisy, smelly, unpleasant things seems quite normal to me. That's something many industries has to put up with. Deal with it.
5) So the clever hauliers take advantage of the changing market. Welcome to the world of small business. See my answer to point 2).
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And with regard to customers, many will negotiate contracts for a year, two or three years. This has already bankrupted public transport contractors - bus operators contracted to local authorities to provide public transport.
Customers can't get goods hauled by hauliers that have gone bust. Not even local authorities can get bus services out of bus companies that have gone bust. In other words, if these groups want the transport, they're going to have to face the fact that market conditions have changed, and accept contract renegotiation. They won't be blind, they'll have noticed insane fuel prices. This situation calls for contract renegotiation, not whining.
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UK hauliers protest at fuel costs again - 
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