| |
| Fuel
Cost
cause
ferry
price
rise
Article
from
www.bbc.co.uk
|
The
Isle
of
Man
Steam
Packet
Company
has
announced
a
price
hike
due
to
soaring
fuel
costs.
The
company
says
the
cost
of
fuel
has
doubled
over
the
past
year
rising
from
$600
(£322)
per
tonne
last
year
to
as
high
as
$1,200
(£645)
this
year.
The
surcharge
for
a
foot
passenger
will
cost
between
£2.50
and
£5
and
the
freight
surcharge
will
go
up
to
£8
per
metre
or
£40.00
per
trade.
The
increased
charge
will
come
into
effect
from
1
September.
The
company
said
the
cost
of
fuel
for
a
return
trip
from
the
island
to
Liverpool
can
be
as
much
as
£15,000.
Steam
Packet
Company
chief
executive
Mark
Woodward
said:
"World
fuel
prices
have
reached
record
levels
in
recent
months,
and
in
the
marine
transport
sector
the
scale
of
the
increase
this
year
has
been
quite
exceptional.
"The
Steam
Packet
Company
has
absorbed
much
of
the
increased
cost
over
the
last
few
years,
and
since
March
this
year
has
already
absorbed
several
million
pounds
in
extra
costs,
which
it
cannot
recover."
If
fuel
costs
go
down
charges
will
subsequently
be
reduced.
|
Soaring oil prices fuel industry fears
Please see below article featured
in May
14
2008
by
Bill
Gleeson
and
Alistair
Houghton,
Liverpool
Daily
Post |
|
Predictions of £6 a gallon for petrol will hit some businesses very hard. Bill Gleeson and Alistair Houghton report
THE price of a barrel of crude oil has doubled since the start of 2007. The price rise has been driven by strong demand from China and India, something that is unlikely to slow any time soon.
An increasing number of economists are predicting the oil price could rise beyond its current $124-a-barrel to reach $150 to $200. At $150, prices at the petrol pump would reach a painful £6 a gallon.
More Details...
Back
Prices are beginning to hurt businesses, too, particularly those in the transport sector, including hauliers, bus companies, airlines and taxi drivers.
One of Liverpool John Lennon Airport's most popular air routes fell victim to soaring fuel prices last week and the whole aviation sector has started to feel the pinch.
Euromanx flew from JLA to the Isle of Man five- times-a-day, a service that started operating in August, 2002. When it stopped trading at the end of last week, Euromanx blamed increasing fuel prices and low passenger numbers.
In a statement, the firm said: "Over the last six months, a number of factors, including rising fuel prices and reduced passenger numbers, have proved to be insurmount- able obstacles to the airline being able to continue to operate."
The statement was in stark contrast to the company's announcement in February that it had enjoyed a record start to a year with a "phenomenal number" of bookings after it slashed its fares to Liverpool, Manchester and Belfast to just £19 one way.
Just days earlier, Easyjet chief executive Andy Harrison predicted that sky-high fuel prices would send some smaller airlines to the wall.
He insisted his company, which is JLA's second biggest carrier, would be able to weather the storm, but admitted rocketing fuel costs were eating into revenues.
Also last week, Easyjet reported underlying pre-tax losses of £41.4m for the six months to March 31. The airline traditionally makes a loss in its first half but the latest figure was double that of 2007.
Mr Harrison added: "Oil remains the biggest challenge and uncertain- ty. The price of jet fuel has risen 35% over the last three months, and is now 80% higher than last year. No- body knows how much of this is driven by short-term financial spec- ulation and how much is a longer term increase. What is certain is that, if these fuel increases are maintained, many of our weaker competitors will disappear or downsize."
JLA's biggest carrier, which operates more than 40 routes, is Ryanair, the Irish budget airline. It remains bullish about its own future prospects and regularly takes potshots at full-service rivals such as British Airways and Aer Lingus for their levying of fuel surcharges on passengers.
Ryanair has already warned its profits for the coming year could be halved if the price of fuel doesn't come down. It has pledged no fuel surcharges on ticket prices, but both it and Easyjet are maximizing revenues from other sources. For checking in a bag, Easyjet now charges £10, while Ryanair has recently raised its charge to £16.
In-flight refreshments are also a valuable source of revenue, for both carriers as are the commissions they earn from car hire and hotel bookings made through their websites. The higher fuel price is just one of a number of problems British Airways is having to grapple with. The disastrous launch of Heathrow's Terminal 5 coupled with lower passenger numbers are just adding to their woes.
Analysts say that if oil stays above $120 a barrel much longer then BA's annual profits for next year could be wiped out. The firm reports its latest figures this Friday.
ANDREW PALMER, managing director of St Helens and Widnes transport business Suttons Group, admits he has had sleepless nights about the soaring cost of fuel.
He said: "In the month of March, and that was before the recent escalation, we saw our fuel bill go up by £50,000. Over the last 12 months, the price we pay for fuel has gone up by something like 27%. If you look at how fuel costs in our UK road tanker operation, it represents about 25% of our local costs.
"That price has escalated again in recent weeks. We have to pass the cost on to our customers."
Mr Palmer said the company has agreements with customers to review prices every quarter to meet rising fuel costs. Now those reviews are held monthly.
He said that, despite reluctance from some customers, most under- stood the problem - but he warned those price rises would ultimately be passed on to consumers.
The Road Haulage Association says diesel costs have risen by 31% in the past year and now typically represent 40% of the operating costs of a 44-tonne truck.
Widnes Hauliers O'Connor Group, part of the wider Stobart Group, runs some 90 trucks from its base.
Its commercial director Peter Lea said: "Our spend on fuel is escalating all the time. It's not getting out of hand, but everything we pay out has to be passed on to our customers.
"Ultimately, it's the people who buy the goods that are transported in the trucks that pay for it - which is everyone of us, the consumers."
Mr Lea has been shocked by the recent price rises.
"Over the last month, it's gone up by about 20p a litre," he said.
"We use around 7,000 gallons of fuel a week. By the time you multiply that out to the total spend, it's quite a fearsome figure.
"We have to pass it on. Margins in transport are on a knife edge."
Stobart group is trying to minimize the impact of fuel price rises by taking empty lorries off the road.
In their trading results published this week, Stobart revealed that over the past year the haulage group has achieved average levels of 82% fleet utilization, meaning just 18% of miles traveled were without a load.
This week, official figures reveal- ed that factory gate prices rose at the fastest pace in two decades, a fact that will inevitably feed into the prices paid by consumers for a whole range of goods and foodstuffs. Again oil prices were blamed.
THE rising prices were reflected in yesterday's inflation figures, which reached 3%, well over the Bank of England's target level.
Nor does it show any sign of relenting. Manufacturers and consumer groups warned there would be more to come, with a strong euro pushing up import prices.
Despite the relentless rise in prices in recent months, Professor Patrick Minford, an economist at the University of Cardiff Business School, remains optimistic that the high prices won't last. He believes prices at their current levels will cause industry to find alternative fuels or more efficient ways of consuming oil.
Prof Minford said: "These very high prices will unleash a substitution effect as they did with high oil prices in the late 1970s and early '80s. There will need to be quite a lot of investment in the energy sector before it can come in, but I don't think these high prices are going to last indefinitely. There will be a big backlash.
"After the price peak of 1980, the prices dipped quite a lot throughout the 90s.
"Substitution will take time to come through and prices will remain high until that happens. Much of that substitution will has yet to happen in China and India, where growth is still strong."
Nor does Professor Minford fear the inflationary effects of rising oil prices: "Countries that have a good monetary policy won't have a problem with inflation.
"China and India may well have a problem with inflation, though."
tonymcdonough@dailypost.co.uk
|
| |
| Fuel Costs Must Be Passed On, Says RHA |
| |
The Road Haulage Association (RHA) is very concerned that some hauliers, even those with fuel price escalators in their contracts, are finding customers either refusing or willing but unable to accept increased haulage charges for fear of the consequences to their own businesses.
'Hauliers should note that it is government policy for such costs to be passed on otherwise they would not be seeking higher rates of fuel duty,' said RHA Chief Executive Roger King.
Haulage is not a charitable business, but increasingly a business of survival. We are not a cushion for British business and so must follow the example of the airlines by adopting a "pay up or no haul' policy.'
|
| |
| Fuel Prices Still on the Increase! |
| |
According to the Road Haulage Association's weekly fuel survey, the bulk price of diesel is still increasing!
RHA calculations showed that an operator averaging 1,600 miles per week is now paying £354.60 per week for diesel MORE than at this time last year. This equates to an extra £32,730, per year, per vehicle!
"This price represents a continuing upswing in hauliers costs", said RHA Chief Executive Roger King. "What is more," he continued, it is confirmation, if confirmation were needed, that the Chancellor must not increase fuel duty in the forthcoming Budget.
|
| |
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
Request a Quote |
|
 |
To request a competitive quote please
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
Graylaw Freight Tracking |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Latest News |
|
Fuel Prices Still on the Increase! |
|
According to the Road Haulage Association's weekly fuel survey, the bulk price of diesel is still increasing!
RHA calculations showe that an operator averaging 1,600 miles per week is now paying £354.60 per week for diesel MORE than at this time last year. Read More... |
|
|
|
|
|
