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Hit hard in the pocket
Page 16
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The average cost of diesel continued to rise in June, and the RHA believes that recent fuel. price rises have added an extra £1,000 to the cost of running an HGV.
THE PRICE OF DIESEL at the pumps continues to skyrocket it rose for the fourth month in a row to an average of 104.8 pence per litre (ppl) on 15 June.
Since 15 January, the average pump price for diesel has increased from 98.7ppl, or an average of a penny a litre every month since Christmas, according to the AA's Public Affairs Fuel Price Report for June.
However, hauliers that pay directly for diesel at the pump can console themselves with the fact that their vehicles don't run on petrol-the average price for petrol has shot up from 86.6ppl in January to 102.7ppl in June.
Hauliers in East Anglia should be the most alarmed they have to contend with the highest pump price average of 105.5ppl, while hauliers in the North can benefit from the lowest average at 104.1ppi.
Increase in cost That said. UK hauliers should also be aware the UK average pump price for diesel is the highest in Europe by some considerable margin, with Italy corning in second at 101.15ppl.
During June, an average of 63% of the total retail price was taken as tax, which is a slight fall from May's average of 63.62%.
According to the Road Haulage Association (RHA), in the past month hauliers have seen the equivalent of an extra £1,000 per vehicle slapped on to their annual fuel bill.
-On 22 April 2009, the Chancellor. in his spring Budget, stated he expected energy prices to come down," says the RHA's head of communications, Kate Gibbs. In fact, the opposite has happened, adding even more weight to
the case for the UK haulage industry to see September's proposed duty increase of 2ppl abandoned. If the worst-case scenario becomes a reality, and we do le see a further increase in September, it will be the third rise in nine months, which equates to a tax rise of 12%."
The RHA's stance is that if Alistair Darling is to meet his commitment laid out in the Budget to speed up the recovery from recession and create jobs as a result, a healthy road transport industry would be at the very heart of such a recovery.
Gibbs adds: "Surely the Chancellor realises a fuel duty rise will have a damaging effect on what is a depleted haulage industry and on the future economy of the UK in general." •