Finances, a word that is guaranteed to bring a sweat to my brow. When I started up I took the decision that any expansion would be paid for in full, I didn't want to have to work all week only to find my income gobbled up by repayments. Since then my vans have all been purchased outright, My (very small) yard and office is on land owned by a family member and therefore the best sort of cheap ... Free !!!.

I buy decent second hand vehicles, and as a man with a van, I employ, as needed, a mechanic with a van to fix them. But now pressure from outside is on me. One of my customers is asking for our van to be liveried, and no older than 18 months at any time. Buying new isn't really an issue as I will simply at the end of its life with the customer put in the general courier fleet. Paying for new is an issue, the instant it rolls into the yard I am out of pocket. A second hand van, bought for cash can be refurbished , resprayed and sorted out mechanically run for a year or two and then sold for very little depreciation. A new ones value plummets like a stone the second it sees its first bit of tarmac.

But the customer is insistent, and their work is consistent and well paid. So do I bite the proverbial bullet and spend out cash on a new van?. I like having the cash in the bank, if it goes quiet I ( and my drivers can still get paid). Engines and gearboxes can be replaced without the worry of how to pay for them. Or do I go for finance and the bewildering array of options and accept that the vehicle is working 2 days a week for the finance company not me.

I realise that many people will say that by earning the money and putting it into the bank for future purchases is the same realistically as paying finance, and your probably right, just to an old fashioned bloke like me, cash in my bank is better than cash in someone else's.

The next couple of weeks will be spent pondering this problem, and visiting various showrooms to see exactly what is on offer, in the mean time I cant help thinking to myself that while a brand new van is a step forwards, is it, with all the finance problems that come with, it a step upwards?

Paul Mcbride runs a small courier business running 5 light vehicles on urgent deliveries throughout Europe

With the introduction of Euro 4 engines and the ongoing technological spurt for the ever greener diesel engine I have to wonder if we are actually doing anything to save the environment, it would seem that to meet Euro 4 and Euro 5 emissions levels the engines are not so fuel efficient as the Euro 3 engines (which made the biggest leap in cleaner emissions) and any further development is a fraction of the original reductions in emissions levels. One has to wonder if the increase in natural resource usage (fossil fuels) that Euro 4 and 5 and in likelihood any future regulations compensates for the lower air pollution. You have to wonder about the old non euro trucks that are being shipped all over the globe to burn oil in the far off poorer countries, surely if we are to save the planet then transferring the polluting vehicles from one side of the globe to the other isn’t the answer. I don’t believe the full cost to the industry (and the country) has yet been felt. New trucks using 20% more fuel and the price of fuel up 20% - you’ve got to be kidding!! Stand by for more companies going bust in the next two years. . .

There’s plenty of press (transport related press) about the forthcoming drivers CPC and the how’s, why’s and even the costs but nothing in the general press about it so once again Joe public will be unaware that the thousands of professional drivers on the road are actually undergoing any form of further training or education. I have to wonder if this extra training will mean that drivers visiting supermarket RDC’s will be treated any better. Will they suddenly realise that you have a brain and can tell the difference between a red light and a green light and be allowed to keep your keys with you and sit in your cab instead of having to walk to the office and hand over your keys and sit on a wooden bench or plastic picnic chair with the dozens of other professionals also doing the same job, quite probably not. Perhaps given the state of the waiting times at some RDC’s someone will set up a training programme so that you can learn spend your wasted hours sitting the driver CPC whilst on the wooden bench waiting to be unloaded!
Seriously though, I do envisage a considerable amount of drivers leaving the industry over this, they are already treated like idiots or lepers and sometimes both! So why would anyone want to undergo training to stay in an industry with this kind of attitude? You could train to be a plumber and be met at the door by a bored housewife who is so happy to see you and the first words are ‘would you like a cup of tea’ instead of we are running 4 hours behind we’ll get to you when we can.

John English has been trading for 20 years, mainly international work but more recently in the UK. he runs 4 Scania artic trucks, all unmarked white, His drivers are all British drivers with approx 20 years experience

I had a letter this week concerning one of my fuel cards – Their terms and conditions have changed for 2008! Amongst things like - Copies of receipts or invoices £5,Vehicle clearances £10 and exceeding Credit Limit £35 , I noticed this one - If I don't use 400 litres a month on this particular card ( A BP card provided by a company who shall remain nameless for now) they are going to charge me £5 a month – as the garage that I use this card at most often has changed from BP to Shell, this card was going to get less use than before.

Now paying for diesel is bad enough, paying for not using fuel is even worse !! Although I only use a small amount of diesel (average about 2500 litres a month) this still seems unreasonable to me! As I also have a bunker card with this company (which I buy probably ¾ of my diesel with) I thought it was time to have a word! With my suggestion of cancelling the BP card if they decided to charge me the fiver, I'm pleased to report they decided that both cards would count towards the minimum use figure and the letter was really meant for customers with only the BP card - I'm just glad I read the letter instead of just glancing at it and “filing” it in the bin! Who knows what would have happened if I didn't notice?

Of course one less fuel card wouldn't be the end of the world – I usually carry several, it's my way of keeping them on their toes, I have 5 fuel cards to chose from , although 2 are left on my desk as their prices have been consistently too high!! The others get used when their price email gives me the best deal, although it seems like using the same one every week makes them take their eye off the ball as far as price is concerned, alternating helps them to concentrate in my opinion. And of course there's always my Allstar card for when I spot pump prices better than the fuel card prices ( which actually happened twice last month! ), the only drawback being they issue a fraud alert every time I fill the truck as it's mostly used for small amounts in the Land Rover !!

Denis Fuller is a owner operator based in the south west, running a single truck on livestock and agricutural haulage

David Preston, Managing Director Prestons of Potto
When I first started writing this column I intended to avoid the subject of fuel costs. However, recent events make it impossible to ignore.

In Scotland news of the refinery problems soon resulted in shortages at commercial stations. The supermarkets appear to have a more robust fuel supply chain but the height of modern tractor units is not always compatible with the canopy clearance available at supermarket filling stations. The anti-syphon guards fitted to combat fuel theft also make it impossible to transfer fuel from one vehicle to another. At one point it looked like we were going to have to send the workshop van to Scotland laden with jerrycans.

You also find that as in the last fuel crisis hauliers who would normally help start holding onto their fuel stocks tighter than a camel’s arse in a sand storm. These supply problems will also not help the massive cost increase of circa 40% we have had to deal with over the last 12 months. The frightening prospect is that some sources are indicating that diesel may rise to £1.50 ppl or more by the end of the year, a further 25% increase. With fuel accounting for a third of transport costs this would add up to a 22% increase in the cost of running a vehicle.

Unfortunately the small margins in road haulage mean the cost will have to be passed on in increased transport rates. There is no way such large increases can be offset by operational efficiency improvements alone. Whilst in the past fuel prices have sometimes dropped from peak prices it seems that in the future demand will always outstrip supply so the price of fuel will rise on a continual basis.

However it would seem the problem could easily be solved in Spain the price is approx. 60 ppl. During World War 2 a pipeline was laid in 24 hours to France across the Channel to supply D-Day landings. Surely 60 years later we could do the same. The other alternative would be to do the same as my grandfather did 50 years ago when the Suez Crisis meant diesel fuel was unavailable and bring our Burrell Steam Engine out of retirement. It would have no problems pulling the loads but the London low emissions zone could prove difficult to comply with.

Founded over 50 years ago Richard Preston and Son Ltd is one of the most recognised transport companies in the UK. Better known as Preston's of Potto it is a multi faceted transport company operating over 220 vehicles. Preston's has 4 depots throughout the UK serving most sectors of the industry. Preston's offers a large amount of warehousing and also provides total management solutions for its varied clients.