Spiralling diesel prices drive up haulage costs
Further diesel price hikes have increased the cost of operating a typical large lorry by £850 a year, says the Road Haulage Association (RHA). According to the RHA’s Weekly Fuel Price Survey published on March 11th, the national average price of bulk diesel paid by haulage firms rose by another 2.02 pence per litre to a new all-time record level of 114.20 p (excl. VAT). The RHA survey shows that diesel has risen by 23.14 pence per litre (excl. VAT) since November 2009, adding £10,000 to the annual cost of running a typical large lorry. RHA’s director of policy, Jack Semple, commented: "It is essential that costs on this scale be recovered fully from customers – not least because other costs are also rising." He added: "We have already had plenty of duty inflation – 17% since November 2008 – to put on top of the surging price of diesel." Semple called for the planned inflationary duty increase planned for April 1st to be abandoned – not just the one pence element, but also the RPI-linked ‘inflation‘ element, which, at three pence, is much more significant. Quelle: eyefortransport |