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Travis Perkins is the latest company to announce that it will relocate older trucks in order to comply with London's Low Emission Zone (LEZ). The builder's merchant, which runs its vehicles for up to eight years, will move 40 trucks out of its London depots. "We are fortunate that we have a 2,000-strong truck fleet to call on," says Graham Bellman, group transport manager.

A spokesman for the Freight Transport Association (FTA) confirms that this is a serious issue for many members, who  are finding themselves having to juggle their fleets. He questions the logic of forcing operators to move their most polluting trucks out of the capital. "By definition road users and residents outside of London will suffer," he says. In a letter this week, Transport for London denies this will be a big problem, but clearly many firms will be affected.

Skip rental companies and removal firms are likely to be hit particularly hard, as they tend to run their specialist vehicles for longer periods. Brian Pearson, chairman of Pearson Home Moving, confirms that his firm will be "badly hit" by the LEZ. Pearson currently does up to five removals in London per day - meaning a potential cost of £1,000 a day if their pre-Euro 3 trucks are used.

Pearson adds that 65% of the firm's fleet do not currently comply with LEZ requirements, but says fleet replacements and retrofitted devices are not financially viable. "Our trucks do an average 70,000km a year so we keep them longer. We buy  a truck and expect to get seven to eight years out of it," he says. Pearson envisages that the cost of the LEZ will have to be passed to the customer. He says the company will try to use its compliant trucks in London. "But it's not always possible," Pearson adds.

Graham Bellman says: "I feel sorry for those companies who only operate in London and aren't in a position to move trucks around. Lead times on new truck are so long that they couldn't get them by February if they wanted to. "The government is forcing people to buy used trucks." 

But decent Euro 3 trucks are few and far between on the used market. According to Daf's marketing director Tony Pain the demand for good quality used trucks has gone through the roof. "Anything with an analogue tachograph which is a couple of years old must be worth a fortune these days." Glass's Guide chief CV editor George Alexander confirms that there is presently a severe shortage of good used trucks, and that there are three buyers for every vehicle.