Application To Cart Eggs Refused

Press, Volume CVII, Issue 31539, 29 November 1967, Page 12

Application To Cart Eggs Refused

The No. 9 Transport Licensing Authority (Mr J. S. Haywood) yesterday refused an application by Port Freighters, Ltd, to cart eggs and frozen poultry from Oamaru to Wellington with exemption from rail restriction.

The Authority refused the application on the ground that “the general manager of railways would be adversely affected to a material degree.” Railways staff gave evidence that the loss of revenue to the department if the application were granted would be more than $86,000. It would also severely impair the economic operation of the rail-air service between Blenheim and Wellington. Mr Haywood said that although he had great sympathy for the economic difficulties of the egg producers in the Oamaru district he considered their redress did not lie in the correction of transport problems. Mr O. R. Nees, a chartered accountant, produced figures during the two-day hearing showing that 54,728 crates of eggs were sent from Oamaru to Wellington during the year ending June 30, 1967. Shipments had tended to increase from year to year so that the North Otago area was now providing about one-third of the supply to Wellington. He said the current cost-of sending a crate, of eggs to Wellington by the rail-air method was $1.51 which included $1.27 for freight on full crates from Oamaru to Wellington and the balance on empty returns freight. He said that Port Freighters, Ltd, of Christchurch, had submitted an all-inclusive quotation of $l.lO per crate from Oamaru to Wellington and return.

The company's truck and trailer combinations would travel to Wellington through Lyttelton using roll-on, rolloff methods. A change to road transport should bring savings in direct freight costs amounting to $22,438 per year. Mr Nees produced figures supplied by North and South Island egg co-operatives indicating that the rate of loss was lower in road transport than in rail. The annual saving would be about $4400. The total estimated saving of $26,900 was equivalent to 1.64 c per dozen eggs from Oamaru to Wellington. This would accrue to the producers and put them in a better position to absorb increases in other costs without asking for a price increase. •

The saving would be reflected in a retail price of eggs which would be lower than it would otherwise have had to be. Several Oamaru poultry farmers appeared in support of the application. James Raymond Griffiths, chief stationmaster at Oamaru said the department’s revenue from transport of eggs from North Otago was $86,770 of which $37,215 was derived from railing the eggs from Oamaru to Blenheim. Maurice John Linehan, a commercial agent for the railways, said the rates of cartage were specially negotiated. Arthur John Schofield, asistant air-sea controller for the railways, said the loss of the egg freighting business would mean a 5 per cent drop in revenue for the rail-air service and this would turn a profitable concern into an unprofitable one.