OFT considers costs
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• The Office of Fair Trading is still considering a plea by the Road Haulage Association to allow it to publish cost tables to help its recession-hit members make ends meet.
It has already rejected the principle of the association setting recommended rates — an idea mooted at this year's Tipcon conference (CM 2-8 May).
Uncertainty about rates is particularly prevalent in the tipper industry where too many operators go bust soon after entering the market; they undercut established hauliers because they do not know the rates they must charge to break even.
The OFT told RHA directorgeneral Bryan Colley last month that publishing rate cards would be a breach of the Restrictive Practices Act (CM 18-24 July).
The RHA plans to set "ballpark figures" for running costs. They would include standing costs such as depreciation, 0licences, insurance and wages, as well as running charges for repairs, tyres and fuel. But they would not account for any profit element, and so would not be suggested rates, stresses the association.
The suggested figures would simply help members find out what their costs were so they could make their charges more competitive.