COMPETITION SHOULD BE FAIR
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This letter has been sent to Prime Minister Tony Clair from the Transport Association.
• The Transport Association, which has existed for over 50 years, is a self-help group of 60 of the most progressive, efficient and well-known transport and distribution companies in England, Scotland and Wales running nearly 4,000 trucks nationwide.
Members are mainly wellestablished, regional, familyowned businesses who have provided collective operational support to each other in terms of fuel, overnight stops, vehicle maintenance and other facilities. More recently they have worked together to provide innovative solutions to industry issues.
We are not afraid of competition. The transport industry has always been highly competitive and this has often driven innovation and vitality in many of our members. Our trucks are not travelling round the country empty.
The viability of this industry is being threatened by your Government's policies to increase fuel duty at twice the rate of inflation and to increase vehicle excise duty for "vehicles deemed to be unfriendly to the environment".
At the same time Continental haulage companies which can buy cheaper fuel and have lower operating costs, even taking into account higher social costs, are allowed to roam freely here in the UK, paying no environmental taxes. Many of our customers are expecting, no demanding, that we work round the clock, seven days a week, often with smaller drop sizes and an increase in the number of deliveries a day. This is creating an impossible climate in which to invest in the equipment we as professional hauliers need to operate in the most efficient, environmentally sensitive and professional way possible.
It is also putting pressure on our members' costs which often can be met only by reducing staff. Many of them are based in rural, inner city, or regional pockets of high unemployment. We believe any threat to jobs in these locations should be brought to your attention as a matter of urgency.
All the Transport Association members want is a level playing field where the best get better and where we can work with the licensing authorities and John Prescott's Department of The Environment and the Regions to make the most efficient use of our transport infrastructure. But you must listen to the real issues that are not only threatening the livelihoods of road haulage companies but potentially making us less competitive than our Continental neighbours.
Investment plans we make today will affect the social, environmental and workforce situation over the next 10 years. All we ask is for you to put a hold on the fuel escalator, come and meet some professional hauliers who in our 60 member companies employ more than 6,000 people, and help us to work together for the benefit of the UK economy and environment as a whole.
We are the voice of professional hauliers for whom a key reason for being in business is to provide a high quality, cost-effective service to our customers. We look forward to some positive moves from your Government to provide a fair competitive environment.
James Truswell, Chairman, Transport Association.