Soaring insurance premiums and rising fuel costs are creating difficult operating conditions for timber hauliers.
Bryan Harper, of Insch-based Harper Transport Ltd, said: “There is upward pressure on costs because of fuel prices but it is mainly being driven by insurance costs at the moment.”
He said the increases would require a hike in customer transport charges, probably within the next few months.
Mr Harper also said the EU‘s Working Time Directive, due to come into force in 2005, would make life hard for hauliers. Companies faced the prospect of having to increase their wage bills by taking on more drivers because existing staff would no longer be able to work long weeks.
The Freight Transport Association (FTA) has revealed that hauliers experienced the biggest rises in operating costs for 10 years during the 12 months to April 2003.
According to the FTA’s newly-published Manager’s Guide to Distribution Costs, overheads rose by 6.1% for a 40-tonne gross vehicle weight artic and by 5.8% for a 17-tonne rigid. This is largely attributed to an 11% year-on-year rise in fuel costs, a 7.9% jump in insurance premiums and a 5.2% increase in drivers’ wages.
