justin.stanton@rbi.co.uk THE DEBATE ABOUT fuel duty is everywhere at the
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moment, and in January’s Trucking Britain Out Of Recession survey we took a different look at it. At the suggestion of the Road Haulage Association, we asked: “If fuel duty went down, would your customers expect rate reductions?” Nearly half (45%) gave a resounding ‘yes’, while only 28% offered a deinite ‘no’ – with the rest (27%) falling into the ‘probably’ category.
However, those stark numbers don’t tell the real story, which can be found in respondents’ comments. Here are a few examples: ● “Yes. Nearly all rate increases in the last two years have been due to increased fuel costs, so customers would expect a reduction if these costs were reduced.” ● “Quite possibly. Some people believe the price of transport should only ever go down, irrespective of macro-economic conditions.” ● “A couple of my customers would try for a reduction, but I would not give any as I would explain that I have been absorbing this and other expenses without increasing rates as I should have done previously.” ● “Absolutely! Customers usually try to pay as little as possible, and get quotes for every job to ensure they always get low rates. The fuel duty increases are well publicised, so customers are all aware of changes.” ● “My rates have not altered for a long time so they couldn’t really expect me to reduce my rates!” ● “Of course they would. I pass a proportion of my saving on to the customer.” ● “They expect rate reductions with fuel duty going up!” Which comments chime the most with you?