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Hit Ct PHT Hod A Poth PO Poe Se A Scere 4-4 FC ieazii ECA eee A 1 Practical Ways to Cut a | : fuCosts in Carqo Handling (7 | Pea TTT ij Conducted by H.E.STOCKER # lil yf AK yy) / Abt y | / zak aN ea = 2s, lh nee < How Mechanical Equipment Is Used to the Greatest A\dvantage tation that apply to ship opera- tion apply to the miniature trans- portation operation on a terminal us- ing tractors and trailers. Economy depends upon the size of the trans- porting unit, the speed with which it is moved, and the time that the units are tied up at terminals. Speed of movement can be ob- tained only by use of mechanical power. One or two men pushing a loaded trailer by hand will make ap- proximately 150 feet a minute, while the same trailer may be hauled by an electric or a gasoline tractor at a speed of 500 or more feet a minute. It is important, however, not to overlook the fact that the total elapsed time is the fact which de- termines the real economy of the operation. T same principles of transpor- Where Man Power Fails Congestion on a terminal may make it impossible to haul at more than man power speed. However, mechanical speed may be the more economical, because less time is taken to start the loaded trailer moving, as well as the ability of the tractor to keep a load moving with a minimum of man power expense. One man with a tractor may haul several tons at 15 miles an hour. A small army of men would be required to duplicate this performance in terms of tons moved an hour. On one terminal eight men were seen struggling to start a trailer 40) By Hick. Stocker moving. The trailer was loaded with 3000 pounds of pig tin. One man with a small three wheel tractor could have moved this load without delay. The less delay of this char- acter, the less congestion, which is itself an important result of the use of mechanical equipment on many terminals. Although the depression has caused a decrease in volume of cargo, some transportation companies have reduced terminal space. Conges- tion exists even now. One frequent question relative to tractor trailer operation is the econo- mical haul for this type of equip- ment. Frequently it is stated that tractors and trailers are economical only for hauls 3800 feet and over. The inaccuracy of this statement is refuted by the actual economical operation of tractors and trailers on many terminals for shorter distances. This class of equipment is frequently used profitably where hauls range from 25 to 300 feet. Where the dis- tance is short, the principal economy is the speed with which the trailer is started in motion. Movement of small packages of freight short distances across a ter- minal by tractor and trailers has proved more economical than mov- ing the small freight with a two wheel hand truck. The load unit is larger and this larger unit is moved without undue effort and delay. Hand trucks are used only for handling large and heavy cases, and other freight, which can be taken from the MARINE REVIEW—November, 1932 floor of the terminal transported, and dropped to the floor again with less effort than required to lift on to a trailer and handled from trailer to floor at the destination point. Part of this may be offset by allowing the lead to remain on the trailer. Fur- thermore, heavy and bulky pieces of freight may be loaded on to a trailer with less effort than. lifting from the floor, by building a short portable ramp, up which a hand truck may be pushed. Long Hauls at Less Cost Long hauls by tractors and trailers are economical as compared with hand trucks. Freight can be received at the bulkhead platform at the head of a pier, thus reducing congestion on the pier and expediting the move- ment of shipper’s trucks. The haul from the bulkhead to the outer end of the pier, regardless of its length, is economical when tractors and trailers are used. A similar haul of 800 to 1500 feet with hand trucks would be ruinous. The profitableness of tractor trailer operation may be increased by re- ducing terminal time of trailers. This is done by expediting the load- ing and unloading of trailers. Instead of loading 50 cases, one by one, on to a trailer, and then unloading 50 cases, one by one, to the floor of the terminal at another point 50 to 100 feet distant, the cases are placed on skids. The skids then become the unit of handling instead of the cases