While the 2007 KZN Overload Annual Report shows a marked decline in gross overloading in the province, other parts of the country do not have the levels of overload control and reporting and it can be surmised that overloading to varying degrees does go unchecked by law enforcement all too often. No operator can hope to survive flouting the law and must by necessity, find ways to maximize payload and remain legal. FleetWatch asked Duncanmec’s Cornel Dunn to break down the tare mass  issue.

An aluminium trailer can weigh half of that of a steel counterpart, dramatically improving the payload potential

With a variety of businesses positioned over a wide spectrum of the road freight industry, the issue of overloading has been raised during many discussions with our customers, says Dunn. “In our opinion we find the increase of overloading, even if only within the 2% tolerance, to be greatly influenced by rising fuel costs combined with the ever increasing competitive rates in the industry. Transport operators are forced to overload their vehicles just to make ends meet.” 

With escalations in overload control, increases in fines and making the consignee and consignor also responsible for the overload, transporters are in Catch Twenty – Two position, adds Dunn. “The pressing issue is how to carry a profitable payload and stay within the confines of the law. We at Duncanmec believe that a solution lies in light weight aluminium trailers that can carry a profitable payload and are strong enough to withstand South African operating conditions.” 

Payload

According to Dunn, “our customers achieve on average two to three tons of payload more per load with our aluminium trailers whilst still being legal. Let’s translate this difference in payload into monetary value. Assume a transporter gets R300 per ton (average rate) delivered to his customer. He carries three tons more legally than with a conventional steel trailer. This amounts to R900 per day more or R270 000 per year. We can even go further by assuming that he obtains return loads, which increases his profit margin still.”

While aluminium is more expensive than steel, Dunn reckons the trailer should pay for itself in 12 months. 

There is a gap for new generation operators to push the legal payload envelope... the solution lies in the material of the future - aluminium.  Cornel Dunn, Duncanmec

Fuel Cost and Aluminium Trailers

“A further advantage of aluminium trailers is the actual deadweight (truck tractor and trailer tare) that is being moved. The deadweight influences the total combination weight. The less weight an operator moves from ‘A to B’, the lower the fuel consumption,” says Dunn. “By using aluminium trailers, the transporter will move less deadweight while retaining payload or even improving it.” 

Dunn does the maths on GVM and fuel consumption: “An average fuel consumption figure to move a 56 ton steel combination with a 33 ton payload is around 1.8 km per litre, while the average fuel consumption to move a 49.7 ton aluminium combination with a 34 ton payload is around 2.0 km per litre. With a trip distance of 600 km, there’s a R350 per day difference between the two rigs. That’s a fuel saving of R105 000 per year!”

Cornel Dunn of Duncanmec does the calculations...

Bottom line 

The fuel price is now well over the R10/litre mark with no indication of relief anytime soon. Overloading legislation is getting more stringent. The pressure being placed on operators to stay within the boundaries of the law and to remain profitable is immense. There is a gap for new generation operators to push the legal payload envelope. “We believe that the solution lies in the material of the future, namely, aluminium,” concludes Dunn.