The haulage industry is calling for a fuel duty rebate of 15p per litre for essential users as the cost of petrol and diesel continues to rise.
The Road Haulage Association said introducing the rebate would not only support the haulage industry, but would also help to reduce inflation.
The rising price of fuel had added £20,000 in increased costs to the average truck per year, with the costs being passed on to the consumer at the checkout, it said.
“These fuel prices are just fuelling inflation because the increased costs are hitting the supply chain further down,” said RHA MD of policy and public affairs Rod McKenzie.
“We don’t have the capacity in our businesses to absorb these cost increases. So, by introducing the rebate, we won’t need to pass on our costs and price of goods won’t go up.”
FWD CEO James Bielby said: “Fuel is 25%-30% of distribution cost and it’s gone up by 40% over the last year.
“All of that is passed on to the consumer, which means that people are paying a lot more when they go to the shops.”
McKenzie said a 5% cut to fuel duty in March had made little impact.
“[The cut] didn’t help at all. I spoke with lots of our members in the week that followed and they all said the 5p cut had been swallowed up by fuel price increases literally within the week,” said McKenzie.
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