Expected diesel hike in Budget will break firms'
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by Miles Brignall UK hauliers will be paying a record 33p more for a litre of diesel than their European
competitors after the Budget—a price differential that will drive hundreds of UK operators to the wall.
This is the stark warning issued by the Road Haulage and Freight Transport Associations to Chancellor of the Exchequer Cordon Brown ahead of his March Budget. He is expected to impose further diesel and vehicle excise duty hikes upon an industry already paying the
highest rates in Europe.
Last week, in an unprecedented move, the FTA and RHA came together to tell the Government that its "escalator" fuel policy is killing the UK's haulage industry. After making a study, the two organisations now claim that if the Chancellor persists with the planned fuel rises that have seen a virtual doubling of diesel prices in tile UK over recent years, more than 26,000 jobs in the UK haulage industry will be lost by 2002.
At the launch of the docu
ment, RHA director-general Steven Norris said French and Belgian operators arriving in the UK with a full tank of diesel instantly have a £100-a-week advantage over UK operators filling up at home. if the Government goes ahead with this flawed policy we will see job losses far greater than threatened by the closure of the Longbridge car plant," he added. "Ministers seem very keen to prevent that but are doing nothing to help, and in fact are hindering us."
ETA head David Green pointed out that UK hauliers are already paying 14.5 billion a year into Treasury coffers, warning that the planned VED increases will only go to exacerbate the problem by making UK operators even less competitive.
Do your bit and fax your MP with your views on the
fuel escalator. See page 9.