According to the FTA, the constant rising price of fuel is to blame for the crippling operating costs and is leaving the UK freight industry struggling to compete with haulage companies all over Europe.

Simon Chapman, FTA’s Chief Economist, says: “The high price of diesel is the number one concern keeping hauliers awake at night. Fuel now represents around 40 per cent of annual operating costs compared to around a third just three years ago.”

Between April 2011 and April 2012, the increased cost of diesel alone pushed the running costs of a 44 tonne articulated vehicle up by the equivalent of £1,900 per year.

“Whilst operating costs have now reached an all-time high, hauliers face pressure from customers not to raise their haulage rates and are seeing overall levels of activity fall as the economy slides back into recession. As a result, hauliers are struggling to keep their balance sheets in the black, with a growing number having to close their gates permanently,” Chapman continued.

According to the FTA, UK diesel duty is on average 24 pence per litre higher than the rest of Europe. A foreign carrier entering the UK with a full tank of fuel can potentially undertake a week’s work using low-cost fuel purchased on the continent, before returning to mainland Europe.

Chapman argues: “There is a compelling case for an immediate cut in diesel duty. Independent research undertaken by the Centre for Economic and Business Research shows a modest 3 pence per litre cut in duty today would be cash neutral to the Treasury within 12 months.

“The loss in revenue from duty would be fully offset by extra revenues and savings on the public purse resulting from more rapid economic growth.”

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His decision comes amid mounting pressure for further cuts on fuel duty following warnings from motoring groups that rising fuel costs were hurting the economy.

It is believed that the price of diesel and petrol at the pump has risen by 25 per cent and 20 per cent respectively over the past two years.

But Treasury officials insisted that prices have remained relatively stable “for some time” and that motorists have already benefited from billions of pounds of government help.

They also point to an announcement from the Chancellor in last November’s autumn statement that he would defer a planned duty rise.

The 3p a litre increase will now be delayed until August, when an additional, inflation linked rise worth an estimated 5p a litre was to have taken place.

Drivers, who had faced paying an extra 8p a litre in tax by the end of the year, will now have to find only an additional 3p.

Despite calls from motoring groups for further cuts, Treasury officials suggested that Mr Osborne had ruled out any further help to struggling motorists.

The decision risks sparking a new row with Fleet Drivers and Hauliers who claim record pump prices are hitting families and holding back the economy.

Officials say the Chancellor has already provided more than £4bn to help motorists and has found that there are no further funds available for tax cuts.

He has also scrapped Labour’s “escalator”, which raised fuel duty by 1p above inflation every year, which is now index-linked.

“Petrol prices have remained within a 5p range for some time,” one of Mr Osborne’s aides told the Financial Times.

“The price is a lot lower than it would have otherwise been if we had not intervened. We have no plans to change what we said at the autumn statement.”

Mr Osborne’s early intervention is seen as a strategy to neutralise a growing campaign to cut fuel duty.

There are fears the August rise in fuel duty could push up the price of everyday items such as food as farmers and supermarkets attempt to recoup the higher costs of transporting goods.

Diesel prices reached new highs of 143.71p per litre at the pumps this week while the average price of petrol at the pumps last week was 135p a litre.

The AA expects petrol prices to exceed last May’s record of 143.04p per litre over the coming days amid a weak Pound and rising price of crude oil linked to the unrest throughout the Middle East.

It has also been suggested that fuel duty will increase by 4p per litre on August 1, 2012, including VAT.

The Retail Motor Industry (RMI), the petrol retailers’ association, said higher prices could affect plans to tackle inflation and place “the livelihoods of hundreds of fuel retailers at further risk”.

“This is causing a lot of pain for businesses, especially small haulage companies who find it difficult to pass on the price increase to customers,” said Brian Madderson, the RMI Petrol chairman.

In a letter to Mr Osborne, the AA’s president Edmund King called for the government to abandon its planned hikes because the “private car is, for most people, a necessity not a luxury”.

Latest figures show the average British car driver travelled 165 miles fewer in 2011 than in the previous year because of rising petrol prices.

A Treasury spokesman said on Friday night: “The Government’s position on fuel duty was set out at the Autumn Statement and it already includes over £4 billion worth of help for motorists across two years.”

Achieve complete control over your fuel purchases. www.forecourtfuels.co.uk will help you to manage your account and transactions for optimum efficiency and convenience.

Forecourt Fuels and their range of fuel card solutions offer their customers integrated fuel card reporting. In short this means that our Fuel Cards will track precise information on all fuel purchases and includes comprehensive monthly and year-to-date reporting to help fleets control costs and improve vehicle efficiency. Nick Staples, Managing Director of Forecourt Fuels, explained how that helps reduce fuel waste,

‘By using Forecourt Fuels fleet management fuel purchase reporting, fleet managers are able to collect concrete data and implement changes that will have a major impact on reducing fuel expenses.’

Fuel cards can instantly eliminate the admin load of entering individual fuel receipts into company records. This increases purchase control and creates a far less complicated fuel management process.

There are other benefits of using fuel cards too, the first of which is convenience over other purchasing methods. Compared to cash or credit cards a fuel card is far more secure. The purchase restrictions that can be placed on a card can reassure that only fuel is being bought by the driver.

There are a number of fuel cards readily available on the market and therefore it is important to know there are many different price systems too. Many suppliers offer commercial priced fuel cards thus creating significant savings compared to pump prices.

By managing fuel costs the process of calculating overall expenses becomes much more controlled. For this reason a business will gain back power over finances and therefore will not have to result to damaging resorts, such as increasing the price of products to absorb inflated expenses. This makes a much more satisfied customer as prices remain at the same level if not lower than substitutes/comparable products and services.

Did you know we can save a guaranteed 3 pence per litre on diesel pump prices when using one of our fuel cards? 

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They claim their employer, haulage firm Wincanton, is trying to reduce their pay by as much as 20%.

But Wincanton said the industrial action was “wholly unnecessary” and could ultimately put jobs at risk.

Similar action is taking place at depots in Kingsbury in Warwickshire and at Stockton-on-Tees.

The Unite union is warning that deliveries to Jet petrol stations could be disrupted.

The drivers voted by four to one last week to take industrial action, with 95% taking part in the ballot.

Dave Monaghan, from Unite, claimed Wincanton wanted to “annihilate” the pay and conditions of drivers.

“Seven months ago the company approached us and asked us to enter into talks into a clear cost-down agenda on our terms and conditions, to enable them to keep their contract with ConocoPhillips.

“What we want is job security going forward. We don’t want extra pay. We are willing to negotiate anytime, anywhere.”

But in a statement Wincanton said it did “not understand why this strike is happening”, and claimed their drivers were “among the best rewarded in the UK”.

The company said: “There was never any question that Wincanton would implement new terms and conditions without mutual agreement.

“These discussions were derailed by Unite, who forced a ballot for industrial action.”

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Now the cold weather is finally upon us, here are a couple of ways to help save fuel over the chilly winter months.

Remember to check tyre pressure frequently, as cold weather causes your tyres to run a little flatter. You can find tyre pressure information in your owner’s manual. Davidson says tyres with low pressure are burning at least 5 % more fuel. If a tank of fuel normally lasts you 400 km. in the winter, with improperly inflated tyres it means you will be going to the station at only 380 km.

Depending on the speed and the weather, the braking distance of winter tyres can be up to 25 per cent shorter or two vehicle lengths compared to all-season tires. Silvana Aceto of the AA, points out that winter tyres will increase your chances of avoiding a fender bender. It’s not just safety. Winter tyres will save by giving you better traction in the snow. The upfront cost can be steep. For example, a set of four Michelin Pilot Alpin PA3 tyres on an Audi A3 cost is around £600. But they will last you four winters and add an extra year in the life of your all season tyres.

Is your fuel bill is growing bigger?

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For the motorist that likes to visit their local forecourt for a bottle of vino on the way home: good news! The House of Lords have decided to dismiss the ban on Forecourt booze sales, stating the obvious concern of drink-driving, but mentioning that there was no evidence of a direct link between alcohol bought on the premises, and drink driving.

Obviously good news for the Forecourt trader, as the sale of alcohol will sometimes make the forecourt more profitable, however surprisingly chilled food was the third fastest growing category in forecourt sales this year.

The problem lies in the erratic characteristic of fuel prices. Fuel prices change quickly and therefore smaller companies have little control over their expenses.

This has caused many smaller firms to close and others to have to watch their costs in a bid to become leaner.

Companies in the transport and logistic industries have no choice but to respond to rising fuel costs in the form of surcharges, many feel this is a must in order to ensure that no staff cutbacks are made.

Many campaigners urge the government to help stabilize fuel prices  in order to minimize the knock-on effect on consumer spending and economic recovery.

The scheme looks to link Strathclyde Police with the garage operators and East Kilbride & District Crime Prevention Panel. The aim is to help take action against those committing the crime and send out a warning message to anyone thinking of committing the crime.

East Kilbride and Strathaven will introduce the scheme to an additional eleven key forecourt sites in the district within coming months. Up and down the UK there are thought to be around seventy comparable schemes already in operation.

Participating forecourts will be branded with high visibility stickers and posters to increase awareness of forecourt surveillance to both customers and potential thieves.

Forecourts involved will receive documents to record incidents, and will also benefit from exchanging information with police and other forecourts about suspect vehicles and known offenders.

Statistics show that fuel theft in the Oxfordshire area has increased by more than 80 per cent in five years.

According to the Oxford Mail 1,549 motorists left the forecourt without paying in 2010 a figure which was just 853 in 2006.

This theft has been termed as ‘bilking’ which police are admitting is on the rise.

Thieves aren’t stopping at stealing from the forecourts; crime against the number of parked vehicles has risen too from 97 to 113 since 2006.

The information published by Thames Valley Police reveals that 5,336 people left forecourts without paying in the past five years, with figures increasing.

Forecourt owners and managers have told how the crime is increasing with the price of fuel, with several prolific offenders repeatedly driving away without paying.

Thieves are becoming savvier; finding more ways to dodge the ‘automatic number plate recognition’ technology used by many forecourts. This software registers details of any car that drives away without paying, sending these details central system alerting police and other forecourts. Criminals are getting around this software by using stolen number plates.

The AA is warning motorists that this is a costly crime, not only losing the fuel but also in many cases a new fuel tank has to be purchased.

banburycake.co.uk (2011)