Pallet Distribution - Murdered By UK Fuel Prices

Fuel is the single greatest influence on the cost of transport in the UK today.

With global events playing a significant part on supply, and the consequent cost, the UK haulage industry is constantly monitoring the marketplace to ensure any surcharges in place are in keeping with its cost-base.

The rise can be explained in terms of the following three factors:

1 - Economic Concerns - Crude oil and it derivatives, such as diesel and unleaded petrol, are traded in U.S. Dollars. The U.S. economy is currently very weak, and this has meant that the value of the dollar has fallen proportionately. When this happens, there is a rush from foreign investors to buy commodities in the U.S. dollar. This greatly increases demand, and forces up prices.

2 - Supply and Demand Fears - OPEC (the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries) controls about almost 50% of the global oil supply, and is refusing to increase production in order to stabilize prices, despite direct requests from the UK and US governments to do so. Furthermore, global demand is at an all time high due to emerging giants India and China.

3 - Current Affairs and Conflict - Worldwide affairs have a genuine impact on your fuel prices. Concerns about the U.S. housing market as well as long term uncertainty over relations between Russia & Georgia have also caused prices to rise.

The RHA has welcomed the recently tabled amendments tabled to the Finance Bill, are aimed at stabilising fuel prices generally and at reducing the price of fuel sold to road haulage operators.

The Road Haulage Association (RHA) is calling on UK MPs of all parties to set aside party political considerations and to support the amendments, which are intended to bring more stability to the economy and to protect the viability of the professional haulage sector in the UK.

The amendments have been tabled by the SNP, reflecting the particularly strong impact of fuel price rises in Scotland.

UK hauliers provide an efficient and responsive service that is essential to the economy but they are in the eye of the storm created by soaring world oil prices. These amendments recognize the impact that volatile prices are having on the economy and the particular problems of road hauliers, for whom diesel is the key cost and who face competition from low-cost trucks from Ireland and the continent.

Indeed the future looks even more bleak with current happenings in the global financial markets which are sure to have detrimental effects on UK Road Haulage and on the lives of all those working within the industry.

Renewable & Alternative Energy Resources: http://www.alternativeenergybase.com

John Newbury is a UK Road Haulage specialist who spend some of his time consulting for Pallet Distribution specialists W H Barley

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