UK haulage costs highest in the world
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• by Charles Young The consultancy whose research was last year used by the government to demonstrate the health of the haulage industry has now published research which suggests that haulage costs in Britain are the highest in the world.
The Dutch arm of consultancy firm KPMG's study into European transport costs found that they are at least 30% higher than those in the US, which has the second highest costs.
When taken alongside figures from UK lobby groups, the research, which was launched at the International Road Transport Union's 27th World Congress in Brussels last week, provides strong evidence that British hauliers face the highest costs in the world.
In April last year the government quoted the case of Pontefract haulier Brian Yeardley Continental, who was cited in an earlier KPMG report as having low costs when compared with foreign competitors.
However those figures were out of date and Yeardiey was buying a lot of its fuel abroad. it later entered a creditor's voluntary agreement to trade out of financial difficulties.
The latest KPMG report was criticised last week for telling the industry what it already knew. But IRU president David Green said the information was important to persuade the European Parliament to drive down transport costs.
Later in the conference Green replied to a transport adviser to the European Commission who was asking for feedback on the issue of introducing congestion charging. Green said he agreed with the principle, but only if the money was ploughed back into the infrastructure.
"Governments have abused their powers in relation to the industry by using it to get revenue," he explained. "We've got to build trust and policies that work together. The KPMG survey has demonstrated that road costs in Europe are very high already."