TRANSPORT JOBS IN WEST MIDLANDS AT RISK FROM FEE AND DUTY HIKES
April 6, 2009 12:27 PM
Transport sector jobs in the West Midlands could be at risk if plans to increase fuel duty and Government agency fees go through, says leading trade body the Freight Transport Association (FTA).
The FTA represents the interests of over 1,500 companies and their employees in the West Midlands.
Local LibDem MP Lorely Burt has signed up to the FTA's national Every Penny Counts campaign to call for a moratorium on both fuel duty increases and hikes in fees levied by the Department for Transport's executive agencies.
Lorely said:
"It is vital that Government does all it can to help support vital freight transport jobs and services during this severe economic downturn. Like every other business, they will need to tighten their belts to survive, but putting up fuel duties and fees at this point would sound the death knell for many transport companies."
FTA figures show that the planned 1.84 pence per litre (ppl) increase in fuel duty, inflation-busting fee hikes and other discretionary levies will land businesses with an additional bill for £1,500 per truck. For those organisations running a fleet of vehicles, this soon adds up to the equivalent of someone's wages.
The logistics sector, which directly employs 2.3 million people, is faced with an eye watering nine per cent increase in fees levied by the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency, part of the Department for Transport, to test its vehicles. Despite inflation likely to go negative over the coming months, operators are being expected to find the extra cash at the same time as seeing levels of business reduce dramatically.
Businesses in the transport sector operate to tight profit margins and are already struggling as a result of the recession. It is feared that with these discretionary increases in operational costs transport companies in the region will be left with little alternative but to lose staff just to survive.
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