The FTA and RHA have both hit out at the burden imposed on hauliers as a result of the spiralling cost of diesel. Geoff Dossetter, FTA director of external affairs, believes it is now "unthinkable" that the proposed 2p/litre increase in fuel duty for October should go ahead, and has called on the Chancellor to scrap the plan. He also says it is now more urgent than ever that fuel duty on CVs is charged differently to private cars.
Meanwhile, Roger King, RHA chief executive, has called
on the government to adopt a three-point plan to support "the UK's beleaguered haulage industry". This would involve: withdrawing the scheduled 1 October increase establishing a bench price for oil at, for example, $110 a barrel, with any further price increases offset by a fuel-duty reduction and reducing the VAT repayment period for fuel from the current four months to two.
As MT went to press, the bulk diesel price quoted on the FTA website was 99.15p/litre (nearly 2p/litre more than a week ago). Given that crude hit an all-time high on Monday of $118 per barrel, the £1/litre of bulk diesel may be just days away.
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