London, UK: Haulage rates have soared by 18% in the past three years, according to a Transport Exchange Group price index.
The average price-per-mile for haulage and courier vehicles has jumped from 103.1 points in June 2019 to 122.0 points in June 2022, according to the TEG Price Index.
Rising fuel prices are to blame, it says. “With fuel prices and inflation continuing to soar, road freight businesses are facing an ever-tightening squeeze on their profit margins, leaving them with little choice but to increase the price of their services.”
The year-on-year index figure has climbed consistently every month since the start of 2021. This reflects the cost pressures building in the road freight industry over the last 18 months, including the driver shortage, rising salaries and a hike in companies’ national insurance payments.
Lyall Cresswell, chief executive, Transport Exchange Group says: “From operational costs to ongoing driver shortages, we hear about industry issues every day from our members. However, they’re coping admirably with the pressures and the constantly shifting landscape.
“With consumer confidence at a record low, we may well see a slowdown in demand for road freight, as fewer people shop online. But this might actually give the industry a little breathing room, softening the impact of driver shortages and supply chain bottlenecks.
“Nobody really knows what the future has in store, but we’re obviously very keen to see an essential user rebate. There’s no question that hauliers and couriers are essential users and such a move would provide some respite for the industry – and consumers.”
The TEG Road Transport Price Index tracks changes in the pricing of road transport services, based on millions of aggregated and anonymised transactions between thousands of transport companies.
This post has been amended to correct the rate of rise of 18% which is over three years and not one year as originally stated.
