Outward loads slump
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by Hob Willock • International operators are suffering from a lack of export business due to the strength of sterling. But companies are making savings on return load contracts by buying more fuel on the continent.
Several companies Commercial Motor spoke to complained of a lack of outward business. One operator says that while imports are buoyant,
the main problem is in getting manufacturers' export loads out. "Italy is scream
ing out for
trucks at the moment, but our
lorries are going out there at below maximum capacity," he says.
He adds that although his drivers often buy fuel abroad when it is cheaper, he has now given them a strict instruction to do so. Manufacturers are refusing to absorb the June Budget's 4pa-litre diesel price hike, he complains: "But if I was in Luxembourg, I could make back that 4p and more besides on the price of diesel," he says.
The pound is currently worth FFr10.1 in France, up around 35% on its value six months
ago. It is making drivers think twice about fuelling up at Dover, when diesel prices in Calais are so competitive.
"It's become cheaper to buy fuel over there," says another transport manager. "It hasn't always been the case—ifs usually the other way round."
There is no end to the imbalance in sight. Chancellor Gordon Brown has signalled that he is unlikely to take action to weaken sterling against foreign currencies.