RHA Welcomes Chancellor's Fuel Duty Decision

LONDON, December 5, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

The Road Haulage Association is pleased that the Chancellor has taken notice of the mass voice of users of road fuel, in particular, the thousands of road hauliers are suffering as a result of record levels of fuel duty.

"The Chancellor's announcement that he intends to cancel the fuel duty rise that was planned for January comes as a welcome surprise", said RHA Chief Executive Geoff Dunning.

"However, the fact remains that for many hauliers, this latest move will only be seen as a delaying tactic. UK hauliers are tremendously resilient. What other sector of UK industry can survive on profit margins of, in some cases, less than one per cent? Despite this ours is the industry on which the rest of the economy is almost entirely reliant. 

"We deliver the raw products to the processing plants, we put the bread of the shelves of the supermarkets and we deliver the parts needed by the manufacturing industries. In effect, we deliver daily life. That is why a fuel duty cut is so essential.  It will free-up personal finances that can be used to give the economy as a whole the shot in the arm it so desperately needs.

"The Road Haulage Association has commissioned research into a long-term, workable solution that demonstrates how a 3ppl cut in fuel duty will create a net gain of 70,000 jobs and a GDP growth of .2 per cent.  We know what the problems are and we have a workable solution.  But it needs to be put into practice now".

Today's news will mean a happier Christmas for motorists and hauliers alike. Let us hope that it will also mean a prosperous New Year.

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