THE British International Freight Association (BIFA) is urging its members to support the FairFuelUK campaign, asking for tax exemptions for truckers as essential public service providers.

    The campaign's petition demanding government action on spiralling fuel costs and calling for planned fuel duty increases to be scrapped and for a mechanism to stabilise prices at the pumps, has received the 100,000 signatures needed to trigger a parliamentary debate, said a BIFA statement.

    "BIFA believes that to maximise the possibility of reversing these decisions to increase duty rates, our members must add their voices to those of other trade associations and we are urging them to keep up the pressure by signing the e-petition at: http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/347," said the statement.

    Said BIFA director general Peter Quantrill: "Whilst Chancellor [finance minister] George Osborne's comment in his 2011 Budget statement that fuel duty was to be reduced by one penny a litre was a step in the right direction, no one should forget that two fuel duty rate increases are planned for 2012, the first in January, the second in April deferred to August."

    According to Road Haulage Association (RHA) calculations, the current fuel duty is 57.75 pence (US$0.91) per litre. During 2012, the duty rate will rise by 10.7 per cent. On the January 1, the duty rate will increase by 3.02 to 60.97 pence per litre. In August there will be a second increase in line with the Retail Price Index, which will add between 2.19 and 3.03 pence per litre to the cost of a litre of diesel.

    BIFA said that uncertainty over fuel prices is one of the biggest concerns of its members, which, in the UK, pay the highest diesel taxes in Europe.

    "The inescapable fact is that in order to deliver customers' cargo: road haulage plays an important part in the supply chain. Much is made of increased rail and short sea usage, but these modes often require road to make the final delivery. Based on industry figures, a typical 44-tonne truck and trailer averages 7.5 miles per gallon and covers 70,000 miles a year. In total this typical truck will use 42,439 litres of diesel in the course of the year," Mr Quantrill said.

    "UK fuel prices rose by 15 per cent between October 2010 and the same month in 2011, and fuel now equates to between 30-45 per cent of a vehicle's operating cost. The simplest way to understand the situation is that for every penny increase the truck costs an additional GBP424 per annum to operate. The anticipated six pence per litre will increase costs by GBP2,544 per annum or GBP48.92 per week. These increases are particularly unfair because the government's VAT yield increases when prices rise.

    "Previously, BIFA has asked the government to consider the introduction of an essential user rebate and abolish plans to increase fuel duty and it is important that BIFA Members become actively engaged and support the current FairFuelUK Campaign," he said.

(source:http://www.shippingonline.cn/news/newsList.asp?classname=News)