A critical issue in the management of physical distribution activities is whether the organisation should own transport facilities or hire them. There are three types of carriers which an organisation might choose between when deciding how to ship its product; private carriers, common carriers and contract carriers. Where a company owns and operates its own transport fleet it is termed a private carrier. This fleet is not usually available to any party other than the owner. Common carriers are available to any party wishing to transport goods. Common carriers charge standard rates which are published and freely available to anyone who is interested. A contract carrier serves individual shippers on a medium to long-term basis. The contract usually extends over a specified period with an option to renew the contract.
Calculating the cost of owning transport vehicles
In order to make a decision as to whether the organisation should purchase its own transport vehicles or use a common or contract carrier, the costs of ownership must be calculated. The two elements of transport costs are the fixed costs and the operating costs. Some costs are incurred irrespective of whether the vehicles are actually moving or not. These fixed costs include such items as vehicle licence duties, insurance and interest due on loans obtained to purchase vehicles. Operating, or running, costs are a function of the distances travelled by the vehicle and include fuel, tyres and repair and maintenance costs. A list of fixed and operating costs appears in the table below.
Table 9.2 Fixed and operating costs of owning transport vehicles