UK hauliers ‘pay £12,000 more in fuel duty’

With the parties in the process of putting together their election manifestos, the Road Haulage Association( RHA) says lower duty rates “are not just a vote winner but a winner for investment, growth and jobs”.

Fuel represents nearly 40% of a haulier’s operating costs - for every litre of diesel that goes into an HGV tank, the fuel duty element alone accounts for nearly 58p.

One 44-tonne articulated vehicle will use, on average, 41,483 litres of diesel each year. Just a one pence cut in duty therefore represents a saving of more than £400 each year.

“Road haulage is a key service industry to the UK economy and relies almost entirely on diesel, yet diesel duty remains by far the highest in the EU,” said RHAchief executive Richard Burnett.

“If we are to gain a competitive edge over our European counterparts we have to see a 3ppl fuel duty cut.

“British hauliers pay £12,000 a year or more duty per truck than most of their continental competitors.

“That damages the competitiveness of UK businesses and pushes up prices in the shops and for hauliers, it means increased pressure on cash-flow and makes it more difficult to fund investment.”

The RHAis one of the founder members of the FairFuelUKcampaign alliance and it has welcomed the launch of the FFUK fuel manifesto.
“ FairFuelUKhas done an excellent job in stopping the increase in fuel duty,” said Burnett. “However, the time has now come to see a fuel duty cut.”

The campaign is working to cement new thinking on fuel duty within the Treasury and political parties as they look ahead to the next Parliament.