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Costs rise faster than inflation
Page 13
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THE COST OF running a haulage company has risen by 3.3% in the last year, well above the rate of inflation, according to a Road Haulage Association survey.
The association's annual assessment on price movement,conceming items such as fuel, wages and insurance, reveals that operators are having to juggle their finances even more than last year.
The gap between operational costs and the government's own indicator of inflation, the Retail Price Index (RP1), for the period 1 October 2002 to 30 September 2003 widened as the RPI dropped to 2.8% over the same period.
The survey also shows that, at 4.5%, pay rates continue to rise above the UK average. However, fuel still represents the biggest proportion of total operating costs, running at nearly 26%. Wages follow at 25%. But there is better news in the form of a reduction in the increase of insurance costs.
RHA chief executive, Roger King, says operators are paying even more now than the survey suggests: "Had the cut-off [for the survey] been extended by only one day. that figure would have risen to 3.8%. thanks to the Chancellor's fuel duty increase."