"UK Truckers Are Being Held Over a Barrel" Says Road Haulage Association

WEYBRIDGE, England, October 14 -- The Road Haulage Association is horrified at the reports in today's press which predict that soaring world oil prices will put an extra GBP5.7 billion into Treasury coffers. And this at a time when the country in general and the transport industry in particular waits on tenterhooks for the outcome of the Chancellor's Autumn Statement.

On 20 July it was announced that the Chancellor had reconsidered his decision to increase fuel duty by an extra 1.92 pence per litre and would postpone any increase until November.

"This short term measure at least gave UK road hauliers couple of months breathing space," said RHA Chief Executive Roger King.

"However, as we said at the time, a temporary halt to fuel tax increases is exactly that; temporary! What UK hauliers are now desperate to see is a permanent solution to the problem.

"We have even given Mr Brown the solution. Introduce a temporary fuel duty de-escalator for diesel using oil revenue windfall income. This would reduce duty and compensate for the rising cost of fuel, triggered when world prices exceed US$50 a barrel.

"The UK road haulage industry really is caught between a rock and a hard place," continued Roger King. "On the one side, we face the highest levels of fuel tax in Europe. On the other, we face competition from European drivers able to compete on our doorstep because they are using cheaper fuel!

"UK truckers really are being held over a barrel!" The Road Haulage Association - supporting the industry on which the UK depends.

Kate Gibbs, RHA Communications Manager on: Tel: +44-1932-838917, Mob: +44-7979-531451, Fax: +44-1932-858916