News

One of the largest port operators in the UK is facing a showdown with East Yorkshire-based hauliers in the run-up to Christmas after it announced a £5 gate charge at Hull Container Terminal (HCT). The ramifications of the extra cost for container hauliers could spread far beyond Hull if other ports decide to follow PD Ports' lead.

But haulage operators have vowed not to pay a penny and will refuse to pick up and deliver goods during the  busiest time of the year for shippers and retailers if they have to. The Road Haulage Association (RHA) has also weighed into the dispute and given hauliers its full support.

Andrew Lunn, managing director of AR Lunn Transport, says paying £5 every time one of its lorries turns up at HCT will wipe out its profits. He adds that although PD Ports claims the revenue raised will be invested in a modernisation programme, hauliers will not experience any benefit. A committee of 30 hauliers has now been set up to campaign against the charging plans and Lunn, who runs 100 lorries, says unanimous backing has been given to not paying:

"It's very much a united front not one haulier will consider paying," he says. "It's the thin end of the wedge. Our customers are supporting us they don't agree with it." He adds: "It will be extremely difficult to administer the cost of it is  one I don't want to take on board. And it's an unfair cost. On a daily basis we have around 40 movements there, sometimes more."

The RHA's Yorkshire manager, Margaret Edmunds, describes the port's plan as "ludicrous". She says: "It will substantially erode the small profit [hauliers] make on containers. We can't afford it with everything else we've gone through this year. You could be talking about £20 a day if you're lucky. The port says upgrading the infrastructure will benefit everyone. No it won't, it won't allow hauliers to get any more business for the day."

A PD Ports spokeswoman says the "minimal charge" will pay for strategic handling equipment upgrades, although a start date for the charge has not yet been approved. She adds: "Less time will be spent at HCT by the hauliers. Hauliers will see greater turnaround efficiencies, allowing them to make more calls per day."