Hauliers have called on British ministers to take action over record fuel prices that are ‘wiping out’ their profits as the average cost of petrol rises above 152p per litre in the days following Vladimir Putin’s lawless invasion of Ukraine.
Figures from data firm Experian Catalist show the average cost of a litre of petrol at UK forecourts passed 152p on Wednesday, up from 151p on Tuesday.
The cost of diesel rose from 155.23p to a new high of 155.79p over the same period, the body added.
Oil prices reached an eight-year high last week due to concerns over the reliability of supplies after Russian forces invaded the former Soviet republic.
Brent crude reached a 10-year high of nearly 120 US dollars per barrel on Thursday.
The RAC warned ‘further price rises are inevitable in the coming days and weeks’ because UK fuel prices are determined by the cost of oil and the US dollar-pound exchange rate.
Trade body the Road Haulage Association (RHA) has urged the Government to delay upcoming changes to the use of untaxed red diesel by 12 months.
It called for fuel duty to be frozen for a further two years, and greater flexibility with the Apprenticeship Levy to help address driver shortages.
The organisation also wants more lorry parking facilities and the continuation of skills bootcamps to train the next generation of drivers.
RHA executive director for policy and public affairs Rod McKenzie said: ‘Ours is a low margin industry – the average haulage business makes an annual profit of 3 per cent.
Put another way, the weekly profit of a truck may be £80 but the increase in the price of fuel can equate to between £77 to £87 per week per truck, thereby completely wiping out any potential profit.
‘Of course, hauliers can put up prices.
That will add to the general escalating pressures on inflation for everyone. That’s bad for our businesses, some of whose existence is now threatened, and indeed for all of us in the UK as prices rise.
‘But the Government can, and kampus terbaik di lampung we think should, do something about it.’
Fuel spokesman Simon Williams added: ‘As this period of record high prices could be here for some considerable time, drivers may need to take steps to keep their costs under control.
Driving less may be an option for some, but those who depend on their cars will have to try to buy their fuel at the best possible price and then drive as fuel efficiently as possible.’
Queues at the Tesco Petrol station in Newmarket, Suffolk on Wednesday morning as petrol prices soar to their highest
Fuel prices at the pump continue to rocket in Devon as the Russian invasion forces up the price of crude oil
Figures from data firm Experian Catalist show the average cost of a litre of petrol at UK forecourts passed 152p on Wednesday, up from 151p on Tuesday.
The cost of diesel rose from 155.23p to a new high of 155.79p over the same period
An Ukrainian soldier walks away from a camp fire at a frontline, northeast of Kyiv on March 3, 2022
<div class="art-ins mol-factbox news halfRHS" data-version="2" id="mol-24ee92d0-9af6-11ec-a657-bbfbf4225fa7" website war: Hauliers demand ministers take action over fuel prices
