1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164 
WHAT THE PROTESTERS SAY
Page 7
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
Essex-based Andy Courtney of CSL has no doubt that the spiralling cost of diesel is making itself felt in his 20-truck tipping business.
'This month, my fuel bill is £78,000. This time last year, it was £35,000. You do your best, but you can't keep putting your prices up."
Courtney is also scathing of the trade associations' efforts to win concessions through an essential user rebate. They should have dealt A Courtney
with this eight years ago," he says.
Courtney adds that he will not join the Road Haulage Association (RHA): "I get lots of letters from them, but I won't talk to them. I've been in this game for 30 years, but I can't see they've done anything."
Based at Stanford-le-Hope. where a number of fuel companies have major fuel storage and production facilities, Courtney also slams local fuel prices: "In Essex, we've got the dearest diesel in the country and it's where it all comes from. There's no industry that pays so much tax on its raw materials. Why should we bear this burden?"
West Midlands operators Alan Hingley and Brendan Hayward started their journey down to Marble Arch from the West Midlands at 6am. According to Hingley: We should park up our trucks for a week or better; we should not deliver to London for a week."
Hayward, who runs 40 trucks mainly on construction work, reckons: 'Even if you've got a customer willing to pay a fuel surcharge, you don't get paid anything for empty running. Even if a customer is willing to pay, we talk to them on the Friday, then again on the Tuesday — my fuel bill has gone up by 35% in five weeks."
Hingley, who runs 70 trucks and 150 trailers predominantly on steel haulage, agrees: "Even the best customers are getting fed up with it."
Hingley, an RHA member, praises Transaction's efforts: "I'm amazed the RHA is not doing this. In France, if they want something, they get out on the streets and protest. If you go to an RHA meeting, every haulier is there because they want to be seen, but they don't come out here."