Mission impossible
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Ask any UK haulier what the main problem is about high fuel duty and they'll tell you: it's about competing with foreign hauliers. All the more ironic, then, that foreign hauliers based in Holland, France and Italy are to be allowed a further two years before the concessions won in recent fuel protests could be lost.
Even before the concessions by the European Commission the hauliers of these countries were much better off than their UK counterparts, and word is that it is now highly unlikely that the investigation into these schemes initiated by Transport Commissioner Loyola de Palacio will find the subsidies illegal, even after the two years are up.
All of which leaves us, as ever, facing far higher fuel costs than the competition across the water.
We can only hope that in two years' time the Brit Disc proposals will viewed as benevolently. While we wait to find out, foreign hauliers continue to make inroads into the British market. The latest figures on cross-Channel freight traffic show UK hauliers' share of total traffic has fallen from 51% five years ago to just 36%—clear evidence, if it were needed, of a competitive imbalance.
So, although there has been some good news this week, with the government finally detailing the VED rebates alluded to by Gordon Brown in his pre-Budget statement, it isn't enough to stop competition with foreign firms being the number one concern of any UK haulier living south of John O'Groats.
No wonder Brown said during his surprise appearance at the recent Road Haulage Forum meeting that the UK haulage industry has a problem. For once Gordon, we just can't argue with you.