Diesel settles but set to rise
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by Amanda Bradbury • As the pump price war cools hauliers should be prepared for higher fuel bills as diesel pump prices begin to climb from their rock-bottom pre-VAT levels of 45p-47p/lit.
The Petrol Retailers Association warns that the cut-throat prices introduced by major oil companies and supermarkets could force the closure of up to 6,000 independent outlets. This will give the big companies a wider slice of the cake, enabling them to push up prices in the long term says Keith Green-head, divisional manager at PHH Vehicle Manage-ment Services.
This will hit many small hauliers who have switched from bunkerage to pump over the past three months, he adds.
PHH's bunkerage card company, Diesel Direct, reports that up to 90% of its customers have switched to its pump payment Allstar card.
Bob Maddison, who runs Southampton-based threetruck operation Maddison Haulage, has started to buy fuel through his major customer, P&O, because its prices are based on pump levels. "I have been able to get prices from P&O which are cheaper than Diesel Line," he says. "I'm saving about 3p/lit at 48p/lit—I have a haulier friend who has been saving about 23p/lit at Sainsburys."
Li. Diesel prices, page 32.