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Asuccession of diesel price increases has plagued the industry in recent months, mainly as a result of the rise in the cost of crude, now hovering around the $100/barrel mark, but also due to the Chancellor's 2p/litre surcharge introduced in October 2007. Since our last published Cost Tables, sponsored by Daf, the national average price of diesel at the pump has risen nearly 16%. This increase has more than wiped out the 5% profit margin for our sample 40- and 44-tonners covering 100,000  miles annually, their respective charge-per-mile figures increasing from 137.10p to 144.82p and from 147.93p to 156.30p.

The fuel cost per mile for these vehicles is now a hefty 53.32p for the 40-tonner and 57.77p for the maximum weight six-axle rig, producing annual diesel bills of £53,320 and £57,770 respectively. Fuel as a percentage of the total operating cost is now approaching 40% for both vehicles. The picture is almost as grim at lower weights: the charge-per-mile figure for our 18-tonner covering 60,000 miles a year increasing 4% - the industry's typical profit margin.

Even the 7.5-tonner's charge per mile on the same annual mileage is up 3.7%, while the 3.5-tonne van's figure has increased 1.9% for an annual mileage of 30,000.  These figures only cover the rise in fuel costs - they do not include other increases that might have occurred during the same nine-month period, such as chassis and tyre prices.

Monitoring fuel usage

The Department  for Transport-sponsored Freight Best Practice scheme's programme manager John Hix says its representatives have met "hundreds" of hauliers who are not measuring their fuel usage, yet at the same time the vast majority of those questioned in a survey considered efficient use critical to their business. It certainly is. Monitoring fuel usage is critical to any truck operation regardless of fleet size. For a start, operators have to safeguard against fuel pilfering with diesel-engined cars becoming more and more popular.

Taking our sample 40- and 44-tonners fitted, say, with 455-litre fuel tanks, 50 litres pilfered from each would reduce their apparent average fuel consumption significantly from 7.8mpg to just under 7mpg and from 7.2mpg to 6.4mpg respectively. Without measuring fuel usage, how would you know? Seemingly small improvements in fuel economy can produce significant finan-cial savings, particularly on high-mileage vehicles.

A 0.1mpg improvement on our 100,000 miles-a-year 40- and 44-tonners, for example, would save about £670 and £780 respectively on their annual fuel bills. Up the economy by 0.5mpg and you are looking at annual fuel bill reductions in the region of £3,200 and £3,760 respectively - real money. Further down the weight range, an extra 1.0mpg on our 60,000 miles-a-year 7.5-tonner will reduce its annual fuel bill by more than £900, while an additional 0.5mpg will save about £470 a year. Fuel prices will continue to rise, with the Chancellor threatening yet another 2p/litre surcharge in April. With continual pressure on profit margins, monitoring fuel usage is paramount. The adage 'you can't manage without monitoring' has never been more relevant.