Hauliers called on the Government last night to take action to save their industry from crippling fuel prices.

They propose the introduction of a fuel regulator that would stabilise the price that transport companies pay for fuel. The scheme would counterbalance rising prices by cutting the level of fuel duty that industry customers pay.

Hauliers are facing higher bills and, with their margins squeezed, many are not able to cope.

Roger King, chief executive of the Road Haulage Association, said: “The industry is desperate and the Government needs to act.”

Mr King said that he had never seen such concern among hauliers in recent times and that with global oil prices on the rise, and a proposed increase in fuel duty expected in the autumn, the situation was likely to get much worse and many companies would go out of business.

He believes the Government should look to Portugal for the solution to the industry's problems, where the Government ensures a stable fuel price by reducing duty for distribution companies when the diesel price goes up.

“With 90 per cent of all goods delivered by truck it's in the interest of UK plc for the Government to help the industry,” Mr King said.

His views were echoed by Geoff Dossetter, of the Freight Transport Association, who said that, with transport making up 10 to 15 per cent of supermarket costs, problems for transport companies would hit consumers.

He said: “The Chancellor might not be able to do anything about world oil prices but he can change fuel duty.”

Mr Dossetter added that fuel duty in the UK was about 50p per litre, compared with 25p in the rest of Europe, and was hitting the industry's competitiveness and that smaller operators were very vulnerable.

He said: “In recent weeks a number of companies have gone to the wall citing fuel prices.”

One company feeling the pressure of higher prices is Thornleigh Freight based in the West Midlands. Trevor Lester, who runs the company, said: “The price hike is having a major effect on how we operate. It's crazy.

“It's getting very hard to make a living. Someone's got to do something.”

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