New trailer increases payload - reduces costs

A newly developed trailer
capable of increasing payload
and consequently reducing
costs has just entered the
Crossroads Distribution
mining consolidation fleet.
“With volumes in the mining
industry under pressure,
essentially the mines asked us
to cut the rate – and since the
margin wasn’t that high to start
with, we developed a trailer that
is capable of increasing payload
by up to 60% in some cases,”
GM marketing, Howard Sayers,
told FTW.
The company has just taken
delivery of its second unit and
another six will be added to the
fleet by the end of September.
The trailer has been
specifically branded for the
mining industry.
“Because you get increased
payload on the vehicle – you
reduce logistics costs. If we
get a 50% increase in payload,
for every three trips we used
to do we now only have to do
two. Not only does it help our
customers’ rand per ton basis,
but it cuts carbon footprint as
well.”
And while the mining
downturn has certainly
affected traditional business, it
has also created opportunities.
“According to several
analysts, the commodity price
has probably bottomed out.
“Our outlook is for a gradual
increase – we predict it will
likely take two years to recover,”
said Sayers.