Couriers 'concerned' as diesel costs rocket
Date: 17 January 2008
Diesel costs are rising rapidly at the pumps, with costs soaring above £5 per gallon, to the concern of the UK transport industry, including couriers and haulage lorry drivers.
Estimates suggest that the cost of filling an average HGV (heavy goods vehicle) has increased from £875 last year to £1,120 today and analysts suggest that extra fuel costs will be passed on to consumers, as haulage loads cost more to transport.
Food and goods prices are expected to rise, as freight transport costs rocket and road courier companies are calling on the government to cut taxes to reduce the burden on businesses, Metro reports. Britain currently has the highest fuel duty in Europe and the transport industry insists that it is damaging competitiveness.
Oil rose above $100 (£50) a barrel on January 3rd this week and petrol prices have risen by between 2p and 3p over the past two weeks, figures from Whatprice.co.uk suggest.
Petrol has also risen to 105p per litre, it highest level ever. However, global oil prices eased slightly this week amid growing economic uncertainty and concerns about a possible recession in the United States.
US president George W Bush has appealed to oil producers' cartel Opec to increase production in order to reduce prices following sharp increases in crude oil prices over the past year.
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