Samuel's fuel fury
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• RHA chairman Glyn Samuel opened this year's RHA national conference with a fiery keynote speech in which he lambasted the oil companies' pricing policies and gave a new warning on excessive wage demands in the coming wage round.
Previewing the speech by BP Oil's marketing director Vivian Thomas, Samuel described the price of diesel as the thorniest subject of all, and one which second to none causes the most anger and frustration among the RHA membership."
Samuel said that recent upward price movements were unjustifiable in view of the low world price of crude.
"Fluctuations in the price of dery cause havoc with hauliers costings and pricing calculations", reported Samuel.
The RHA says Samuel is continually concerned at the increases in prices at the pumps and for bulk supply, which follow rapidly when the world price of crude goes up. "Yet when the price falls, weeks — sometimes months — go by before a haulier reaps any financial benefit. Something is very wrong somewhere."
Samuel also hit out at how fuel companies "put their prices up together, or at least in rapid succession. We're told that there is no evidence of collusion — we have to accept this, but it can't be wondered at, when doubts remain."
LI BP's Marketing Director vigorously defended the oil companies pricing strategy in a stormy session at the RHA conference. Vivian Thomas told delegates "You are very, very effective buyers — and good luck to you."
Thomas spent much time explaining the various pressures on the oil companies and tackled the problems of the timing of price rises and falls, but few delegates accepted that they were getting a fair deal.
One of Thomas's main contentions was that the price of dery was what the market valued it at, and that prices did not necessarily follow those on the crude oil stock market. Timing of price increases, he said, was triggered by competitors pressure and suggestions that the oil companies were in a "fat cosy cartel" were absolute nonsense.
Thomas also claimed that companies which were giving better cold filter plug points than the British Standard of minus 9°C were giving benefit away for no advantage. When Geoff Pygall of BRS asked why BP would not give the industry what it wanted (minus 15°C) rather than the British Standard, Thomas said he would if he were at all confident that the customer would pay even the factory price of the extra additive required.