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John Mervyn Pugh is a solicitor and former traffic commissioner. Hopes that the government would accept the key points of last year's Burns inquiry and help the industry were smashed last week in the government's Haulage Industry Group report. It devastated the arguments held by the industry. On cabotage, it said that the level is low and there is no evidence that it is having an impact on operator margins.

Margins of 2.2% are similar to the construction industry (2.4%) or couriers at 2.1%.  Neither does the report accept that there is a national driver shortage, only local problems. The pre-Budget statement rejected industry requests for a 25p/litre reduction in fuel duty for those most affected by foreign competition, and refused to restrict the amount of fuel carried on incoming vehicles.

It is good that the government will produce a detailed feasibility study on introducing a "vignette", a daily charge on overseas hauliers to pay for the damage they cause to the roads. But even here the Task Force report sounds too cool. The chancellor might have said in interviews that there would be no return to the fuel escalator, but the report says that fuel duty rates should rise each year at least in line with inflation to reduce emissions and fund public services. Note the words "at least". So we are back to the start. The vignette was considered years ago before the Lorry Road User Charge. It is a pity that we did not adopt it then.