The Road Haulage Association (RHA) has called for fuel retailers to stop the ‘naked profiteering’ that has been occurring in recent weeks. The haulage body believes there is clear evidence of fuel retailers exploiting uncertainty in the market to raise prices unfairly. Profit margins were now said to be at approximately 7.4p a litre, more than double the price before tanker drivers had mooted the possibility of a strike. Diesel is set to go up further in price after a duty increase takes effect on August 1st, which will lead to a rise of 3.02 pence per litre in diesel costs. The RHA’s chief executive Geoff Dunning said, “We have no doubt that diesel prices at the forecourt have rocketed as a result of the uncertainty caused by the threat of a tanker drivers’ strike”. “The predatory pricing by retailers is a severe blow the economy and, of particular concern to the RHA, to smaller hauliers who do not have their own bulk fuel supplies but make payments linked to forecourt prices.” “If this goes on any longer, the RHA is considering referring forecourt pricing to the Office of Fair Trading”, he concluded.
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