RHA: Diesel drives truck costs up by £1,000 in just four weeks
Tuesday, 1 March 2011 12:00 AM
Motorists have a problem with fuel prices - but the problem is many times greater for transport firms, warns the Road Haulage Association.
The cost of running a typical 44-tonne lorry has risen by £410 a year in just one week, the RHA says. Diesel price hikes over the past four weeks totalling 2.41 pence mean that haulage firms typically have to raise their charges £1,000 a year, just to cover their increased fuel costs. The exact amount could be much higher, depending on the type of work the truck is doing.
The figures are based on the RHA's Weekly Fuel Price Survey, which shows what haulage firms are actually paying for their fuel excluding VAT. The bulk price released today was 110.46 pence per litre (exc VAT), up 0.98 pence on one week ago. Clearly, there are worries that prices are going to rise even further.
"These increases undermine economic growth," says RHA director of policy Jack Semple. "However, the cost increases are unavoidable and it is essential that transport buyers accept them through increased haulage rates, unpalatable though that may be at a time of rising costs. That is the only way the industry can sustain the high-quality transport services on which we all rely.
"As for the inflationary duty increase planned for April 1 - the eighth in 28 months and the highest in more than a decade - it is clear what George Osborne must do. Abandon the increase and freeze the duty rate," Semple says.
Road Haulage Association - phone us first
For more details, contact RHA Head of Media Relations, Kate Gibbs on . . .
Tel: +44 (0) 1932 838917
Mob: + 44 (0) 7979 531451
-
Tags:
Newsletter sign up