N500,000.00 REWARD ADVERTORIAL AND ITS AFTERMATH: DANGOTE TRANSPORT WORKERS CRY OUT!: “…The ‘illegal haulage alert’ published in some national dailies has created a lot of problems for us (drivers) because both the police and all manner of persons now stop us on the roads demanding to search the trucks for ‘illegal’ products since everybody wants to be rewarded with N500,000,” another driver who also pleaded anonymity said…”
OSHODI-APAPA EXPRESSWAY GRIDLOCK: LAGOS GIVES TANKER/TRUCK DRIVERS 48 HOURS TO RELOCATE: “…Any tanker that did not comply will be impounded, fined and would not be released until such fines had been paid,” he said. The commissioner decried the untold hardship residents of Apapa were subjected to on daily basis as a result of the blockage of the expressway by tankers…”
HAULAGE BUSINESS IN NIGERIA: A POORLY REGULATED INDUSTRY: “…The thing is that most people that make up these unions are not themselves operators in the true sense of the word and so they are not receiving the pains as it were. I also want to heap part of the blames on the owner-operators themselves. This sounds self-indicting, but I must admit that the exposure among many of us as far as the business is concerned is still very low…”
BANKS RARELY FUND HAULAGE COMPANIES IN NIGERIA: “…Nigerian banks are reluctant to give out facilities to haulage companies because they think it is a high risk business and it is so. They rather fund a merchant that would quickly sell and return their money as against someone who wants to buy a truck and would run it for five years. The main reason why the banks have become reluctant is because the principal, that is the company to which the trucks are dedicated to, could start misbehaving in terms of not giving the transporters the required volume needed to sustain the business…”
LAGOS TAXI MARKET IS WORTH BILLIONS, AS STATE GOVERNMENT UNVEILS NEW SCHEME: “…He explained that the new system would enable taxi operators create wealth; build well-regulated operational environment and provide insurance coverage for both commuters and operators. He said the system had helped the state build a robust database for all taxi operators in the state, thereby putting the total number of 12,617 taxi drivers and 10,882 taxi cabs currently operating legitimately in the state…”
International Trucking Titbits
PRICE OF NEGLIGENCE: FIRM TO PAY £20,000 AFTER WORKER HIT BY TRACTOR ON SITE: “…The accident could have been prevented if the company had taken simple steps to keep pedestrians and vehicles apart in the yard, as they did after the accident.” The Haulage (Holdings) Organisation Limited of Swalesmoor Farm, Halifax, West Yorkshire, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 33 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc and was fined £20,000, with costs of £1,878.50…”
SETTING A RECORD-BREAKING PACE: TRUCKING IN AMERICA TOPS $700 BILLION IN REVENUE FOR FIRST TIME: “…Last year we saw freight volumes grow significantly,” said Bob Costello, ATA chief economist. “Increases in freight combined with continued tight capacity helped drive revenues and coupled with lower fuel prices we saw motor carriers go on a buying spree for new trucks as they replaced older equipment…”
Last Month in Haulage Report Now
TRUCKS’ HEALTH: YEAR-END CONCERNS FOR HAULAGE BUSINESS: “…Loading operations are generally light during the yuletide and thus present an opportunity to ground trucks for repairs and preventative assessment without the added burden of service failure or lost business…That persistent funny sound you have been hoping will disappear with the passage of time- think it’s time you have it properly checked out…” Read More.
TRUCK DRIVERS: YEAR-END CONCERNS FOR HAULAGE BUSINESS: “…Many believe that training truck drivers is none other than a clear waste of scarce resources. Some even believe that Truck Drivers are untrainable!…However, for those that still value their undoubtedly most important asset enough to want to invest in them, a time like this is perhaps the best time to arrange some form of training for the truck drivers…” Read More.
FUEL MATTERS: YEAR-END CONCERNS FOR HAULAGE BUSINESS: “…How many rotors did you lose during the year? How many times did you have your fuel injector pump serviced or outrightly replaced? Did you lose any turbo charger or a number of them during the year? Affirmative answer to any of the above is a sure signal to take…” Read More.
INSURANCE AND TRACKING: YEAR-END CONCERNS FOR HAULAGE BUSINESS: “…How responsive was your insurance company during the year? What about claims payment- how much of what you deserve to get was knocked off on the basis of some independent assessor’s re-computation and extant clauses? What was the response time to claims payment? How many accidents did you record during the year or maybe you had an accident-free year? To what extent have you depreciated your assets?…” Read More.
ROUTING & DOCUMENTATION: YEAR-END CONCERNS FOR HAULAGE BUSINESS: “…So most of your trucks did long haul in the outgoing year? Good. But what was the turnaround time like? What feedback did you get matching repairs history for each truck against the choice of routes? Any repeated cases of misdemeanour or wrongful behaviour associated with any particular route? Multiple taxation or duplicated levies remains a clear and present threat to road transport efficiency in Nigeria and…” Read More.
COUNTERPARTY CONTRACT & TREASURY MANAGEMENT: YEAR-END CONCERNS FOR HAULAGE BUSINESS: “…You may want to review how well you have delivered on your obligations. Where some shortcomings are observed, you may want to strategize on ways and means of ensuring that they are improved upon in the incoming year…Aside leaving the monies in the bank probably to service maturing loan obligations and offsetting operational costs, what else can you do…? Read More
HMO & TRAINING: YEAR-END CONCERNS FOR HAULAGE BUSINESS: “…Were these arrangements really beneficial to the people for whom the idea was conceived? How many were able to successfully access the benefits of the HMO? Do they get quality treatment as and when required?..Aside from competences picked up on the job, systematic training is required for every staff to enable them smoothly upgrade…” Read More
FATIGUE AND TRUCK DRIVING: “….In view of the prevailing traffic regulation in some parts of the country that forbids trailer traffic during the day, making the trip that same night was within regulation. He left the loading bay and hit the highway. Estimated distance to and fro is put at 110kilometers. He had not driven for more than 30 minutes when the accident occurred. He veered off completely from the highway and ran straight into another truck parked on the road shoulder. His own truck was a complete write-off…”
STRESS AND TRUCK DRIVING: “…Ordinarily, this was not a trip he would have loved to take. He was in a state of anger borne out of frustration. He had just been notified of a debit against his salary for shortages recorded in earlier trips. It came as a surprise to him since he wasn’t aware of any shortage recorded in the trips he had made so far. He was under severe financial pressure; house rent was due and children will be resuming school soon. This was definitely a debit wrongly timed…”
Things you DON’T want to know about ALCOHOL: “…Ask any truck driver why he takes alcohol, and he will probably tell you that he drinks to stay awake for the journey; steel himself against the not-so-pleasant and sometimes dangerous operating environment of trucking; or simply to “drown the associated sorrows” of a life riddled with unfulfilled dreams or other major life stress…”
TRUCK DRIVER AND WORK-LIFE BALANCE: “…The Truck Driver just like every other professional must strike a healthy balance between work and life generally. It is when an unhealthy relationship exists in these two fundamental areas that a whole lot of issues bothering on wellbeing, output, attitude and behavioural complications develop…”
TRUCKING AND HEALTH MATTERS: “…Trucking is one of the most physically and psychologically demanding jobs in the world. Truck drivers spend up to 13 hours a day driving, and up to 16 hours a day engaged in various duties (including driving time) such as fueling, waiting for way bills, filling out POD (Proof of Delivery) forms, obtaining routine vehicle repairs and conducting mandatory vehicle inspections…”
Tips to getting that BIG Haulage Contract: A haulage contract with a fast moving consumer goods company (FMCG), if properly managed, guarantees a steady stream of revenue, considerable vehicle/driver utilisation and good return on investment.