Memorandum by MDF Transport (RH 24)
INTRODUCTION
We are a small road transport company which has been
established for ten years and operates 18 tractor units and 40
flat and covered trailers. The work is general haulage covering
mainly London, Midlands, North East and North West of the UK,
and in Europe Northern Germany, Holland, Spain and Northern France.
We submit our evidence under the headings of
your Press Notice No 8 dated 14 January 2000.
(a) The role of the Road Haulage industry,
the way in which it operates, its contribution to the economy
of the UK, and its impact on the environment.
The Road Haulage industry carries about 90 per
cent of the goods moved within the UK, and has done for several
years. This proves the demand for lorries is a proven fact, and
although we agree to goods being transferred to rail when economically
viable, it will take the rail freight companies years to even
double the 10 per cent they do carry now, and this will leave
our industry transporting about 80 per cent of the country's goods.
It operates under private ownership, with numerous
companies similar to our own, under normal competition rules,
but with some co-operation during very busy times. Most Hauliers
are members of the Road Haulage Association, or the Freight Transport
Association and often meet to discuss the industries problems.
Many are family firms, some having customers dating back many
years, each seeking to give a service and make an operating profit.
We believe it makes a huge contribution to the
economy of the UK, bearing in mind the high percentage of goods
carried by our industry. It is highly competitive by the very
nature of its diversity, and makes a major contribution to the
costs of the products produced by the UK manufacturers.
We believe its impact on the environment is
best served by legislation on exhaust emission which the EU is
doing, and not on the price of fuel, as this will not effect the
demand for Road Transport.
(b) The impact on the industry of current
and past rates of vehicle excise duty and levels of fuel duty.
We feel that successive British Governments
have had a devastating effect on the costs of the Road Haulage
industry, and we see little to choose between the attitudes of
successive governments towards our industry. It has been all too
easy to keep on increasing fuel duty year after year with no thought
whatever for haulage firms having 30 per cent of their costs (diesel)
being increased by 5 per cent or more each year. We attach a graph
demonstrating this. The impact has been to make firms unprofitable,
depress drivers' wages, and greatly affect investment in new equipment,
compared to European Transport firms.
We have the highest vehicle excise duty by far,
compared with major EU countries and this cannot be right. The
industry has been forced on to expensive and fuel inefficient
3 axle tractor units, while the rest of Europe operates on cheaper
2 axle tractors, again making them more competitive.
(c) The regulations which governs the industry
and their impact on the safety record and profitability of the
industry, and what changes to Government policies affecting the
road haulage industry are needed to benefit the economy and the
environment.
We feel that regulations in the UK do everything
to hamper the profitability of the UK transport industry compared
to the rest of the EU. When we go into Europe we pay road tolls
and road tax and when foreign hauliers come to the UK they pay
nothing. Often they do not even buy diesel here, but bring in
1,200 to 1,500 litres of their own diesel, which is 30-40 per
cent cheaper than in the UK. Their vehicle excise duty is often
only 20 per cent of our own. We must ask the question—why
are other EU countries taxing their road transport industry so
much less than us in the UK? With regards to safety, often the
same principles apply. Our safety rules are by far much more extensive
and costly than the rest of the EU. We have side guards, spray
suppression equipment, extensive servicing costs etc. (Why does
the Department of Transport insist our trucks need so much more
servicing than the manufacturers recommend—the Dutch don't!).
We agree with the need for safety regulations, but all we are
asking for is a level playing field when compared to the rest
of the EU. Thousands of foreign trucks enter our country each
year with little or no mudguards and no side guards making a mockery
of the British safety regulations. The EU is a free trade area
where any EU truck can work anywhere within the EU, so any safety
advances must be agreed within the EU so that no unfair competitive
advantages are made anywhere.
We believe that changes to Government policies
are needed to benefit the cost effectiveness of the British haulier
and disadvantages the foreign haulier as follows:
(1) A rebate on fuel duty or fuel VAT to
British hauliers to bring them in line with the rest of the EU,
where the main countries have a remarkable similarity in fuel
prices.
(2) A reduction in vehicle excise duty to
the level of the other EU countries. This could be offset as follows:
(i) Higher VED for cars as in the EU.
(ii) A road tax charge (vignette) on all foreign
lorries entering the UK. (As happens in nearly every other EU
country.)
The law would have to change to allow the Police
to impose on the spot fines (as in the EU), with keys taken from
trucks until it is paid.
(3) A greater insistence by the British Government,
that the rest of the EU adopt our standards of safety and our
safety regulations.
The other area where Government policy must
help the UK haulier, is in the high rate of the Pound against
the Euro (and subsequently against other EU currencies). Many
of our customers export goods, as well as producing for the home
market, and this is used as an excuse to refuse increases in haulage
rates to ourselves. They demand cheap prices for export freight
to offset what they will loose on the exchange rate, further depressing
our industry.
We believe the UK Government is making us uncompetitive
when compared to the rest of Europe. Their own figures show an
alarming increase in the number of foreign trucks operating in
this country, and we would urge committee members to note the
number of foreign registered trucks on our roads when out driving
their cars, it will alarm you!
Our company has lobbied Parliament on four occasions
during the past year, and have spoken to a number of MPs. Our
own MP Tony Wright has been very helpful, and we believe, now
understands our plight. We have also been members of the successful
East Anglian Hauliers Group, attending their two successful receptions
at Parliament, which were sponsored by Jamie Cann MP. We are available
for any verbal evidence if required.
We enclose a copy of the Road Haulage Association
Budget Submission of two years ago. It explains many of the items
in this submission in greater detail, and is still worth referring
to . The only problem is that our industries situation is now
much worse than when it was written in March 1998.
We wish your sub-committee every success in
trying to save our important industry.
David Farrow
Director
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