Kuwaiti crisis fuels huge hike in diesel
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• Hauliers' customers are being urged to pay surcharges to operators facing steep increases in fuel costs as the Iraq/Kuwait crisis bites, forcing diesel costs up 17%, assuming a 5p per litre rise.
The Road Haulage Association hopes customers will recognise the situation is outside the hauliers' control, pointing to a hike in gas oil prices on the Rotterdam spot market from 286 a tonne in March to £127 a tonne this week. The RHA claims diesel fuel could go up 5p a litre.
And the RHA warns hauliers against signing contracts which do not allow them to renegotiate in the event of sharp increases in fuel costs. "A 12month contract should include a clause allowing operators to ask for more money, if neccesary," says a spokesman. The RHA is worried about panic buying in European markets and reports fuel rises in France, Denmark and in Holland — where fuel shot up 10% in a three-day period. In the UK, the Eastern District RHA claims an average diesel price of 31.62 per litre, but predicts this will hit 34 to 35p per litre within a week. At the time of going to press, a Midlands operator reported being charged 35p a litre for bulk fuel.
RHA director general Brian Colley is concerned about opportunism: "I have had calls from members saying that fuel distributors will not quote a price and that the price will be that ruling on the day of delivery. With huge stocks already in the country, I would hope that any increase will take account of this and that fuel
distributors will not try to make quick extra profits." fl l'he personal safety of truckers is prompting British firms to avoid sending lorries into the Gulf troublespot, with
one firm anticipating the crisis by dropping Iraq deliveries weeks before the invasion of Kuwait.
Whittle Houser of Preston says: "We stopped sending drivers to Iraq because of the political situation seven weeks ago." Davis Turner of Manchester is stacking up trailers in Bulgaria until the situation eases. The firm employs Bulgarian drivers who collect loads for British drivers in Germany and Austria for onward transport to Iraq.
But Bob Paul, managing director of Astrans, which claims to be the oldest UK Middle East forwarding company, is worried about one of his drivers who is missing in the area.
At the time of invasion last week, Astrans had three trucks on route to Doha, Qatar. They normally pass through Iraq, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. One driver, alerted to the crisis, skipped Kuwait and went through Arare, a border town linking Iraq directly with Saudi Arabia.
The second truck, driven by John Harper from Barnsley, got caught up in the conflict when the customs building was blown up by Iraqi tanks at Salwan, on the Iraqi/Kuwait border. Harper found his manifest and passport in the shell of the building and drove on to Kh4a on the Saudi/Kuwaiti border. Although frequently stopped by Iraqi troops, he got through safely because of his Iraq manifest. Astrans awaits news of the third driver.
Another Middle East veteran, Peterlea Trucking, narrowly avoided the conflict when a truck driven by Nigel Harness broke down in Germany, on the way to Doha. The failed gearbox, which required repair, saved the driver from catching the full brunt of the invasion.
As Commercial Motor went to press the Department of Transport banned British hauliers from making further trips to Iraq or Kuwait until further notice.
The Government is acting to implement a United Nations resolution passed this week imposing trade sanctions on Saddam Hussein's dictatorship and his puppet regime in Kuwait.