Carriers Combine For Bulk Work

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30602, 19 November 1964, Page 18

Carriers Combine For Bulk Work

Seven of the biggest carrying companies in Christchurch had combined to register a new company, New Zealand Freighters (Christchurch), Ltd., this week to undertake bulk tonnage operations, said the manager of the new company (Mr D. J. Cunningham). The only major carrying companies in Christchurch not to join the group, he said, were A. R. Guthrey and Company, Ltd., and the New Zealand Express Company, Ltd., which had already combined bulk tonnage operations under the name of Daily Freights. Mr Cunningham said that New Zealand Freighters was a group that had combined “to buy haulage from the railways.” “We load the railway waggons. The railways takes the waggons from point A to point B. Another group, similar to the Christchurch one, with which we are tied will unload them at the other end. The group at, say, Dunedin will deliver the goods to the customer, or will telephone the customer and tell him that the goods are there.”

The Railways Department, said Mr had built a siding specially for the new bulk tonnage scheme in Carlyle street. Mr Cunningham said the Railway Department had now realised that the essence of rail transport was to haul traffic and not to handle it. “They can haul long-dis-tance traffic better than any other system,” he said. The new type of bulk tonnage handling, he said, had been in operation for about 11 months. The advantages of the system were increased waggon usage; better service to the public; and the ability for the railways to sell their haulage system. The New Zealand Freighters’ group, said Mr Cunningham, mostly handled general merchandise. The railways still largely handled the agricultural type of goods, at its special rates to aid the fanners. “The Railways are not prepared to give us a subsidy because they are already giv ing a lower rate," said Mr Cunningham. I

The subscribers to New Zealand Freighters (Christchurch), Ltd., with a capital of £7OO, are John Brightling, Ltd., Central Carrying Company, Ltd., J. Deyell and Company, Ltd., Empire Express Company, Ltd., C. E. Gwatkin and Company, Ltd., Horton, Bidwell and Company, Ltd., C. Williams and Sons, Ltd., 100 each. The company was gazetted this week. Mr Cunningham said that another company, Burnett Motors of Ashburton, had joined the group as full partners, but their name had not been registered at the same time as the others. “With eight companies feeding the group, we will try to make things work,” said Mr Cunningham