Rising diesel price to hit hauliers where it hurts
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By Christopher Walton THE AVERAGE price of bulk fuel was set to break new records as it pushed 116ppl as CM went to press.
According to the Road Haulage Association (RHA), the average price of bulk diesel on Friday 17 February was 115.42ppl – just 0.01% below the all-time high of 115.43ppl recorded in April last year.
Nick Deal, manager of logistics development at the RHA, tells CM the current high level is “hurting everybody” and world events – such as Iran lexing its political muscles in the Middle East – could conspire to raise the price even further in coming weeks.
“We were 115.42ppl last week, so we could be looking at 116ppl this week,” he says.
A 1ppl rise in the price of fuel equates to a £501 increase in the average running costs of a 44-tonne artic running 70,000 miles a year, he adds.
The Freight Transport Associa tion (FTA) is calling on Chancellor George Osborne to cut fuel duty by at least 5ppl and scrap the increase planned for August in its pre-Budget submission to the Treasury.
It adds that despite the efforts of the FairFuelUK campaign in getting a 1ppl reduction in duty – the frst-ever reduction implemented by a Chancellor – the price of diesel increased by 7ppl in 2011, adding around £3,000 to the annual operating cost of a typical 44-tonne artic.
FTA chief executive Theo de Pencier says: “Tough times call for serious measures; the need for the Chancellor to reduce this unsustainable pressure on business has never been greater.” FairFuelUK says the recent surge in the price of diesel shows the need for a cut in duty, as opposed to deferring rises. It is holding a mass lobby of Parliament on 7 March, calling for a duty cut.
Go to www.fairfueluk.com/ nationalfairfuelday to take part.