Road Haulage Association - Company details

The ninth annual joint Incomes Data Survey (IDS) and Road Haulage Association (RHA) national survey of pay and conditions for drivers and distribution workers has just been published. The key findings are: The average hourly rate for LGV driver licence category C+E is £8.25 per hour, with gross average weekly earnings of £493.45 The average hourly rate for LGV driver licence category C is £7.95 per hour, with gross average weekly earnings of £433.62; The median settlement level for 2007 ... read more

A new environmentally friendly approach to transporting freight was announced today, as Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon published a blueprint for working with and supporting the industry. With Britain’s freight doubling over the last forty years, the Government is looking at the effectiveness of the current system and the most efficient way to transport goods. Geoff Hoon said: “We have a world-leading freight industry, which contributes significantly to the economy of this country ... read more

Business Secretary, Lord Mandelson has launched a new Code of Practice to help increase the speed of payments to smaller companies. The code was launched at a prompt payment summit, where Lord Mandelson met representatives from some of the UK’s top companies including John Lewis Partnership, British Gas and Asda. The code, developed with the Institute of Credit Management and supported by major business organisations, aims to establish a clear and consistent policy in the payment of ... read more

The news that commercial vehicle registrations continue to show a decline should not overshadow the fact that there are customers out there buying, says the CV Show Partnership, made up of the Road Haulage Association (RHA), Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) and Institute of Road Transport Engineers (IRTE). “It’s tempting to give up on 2009, to fold up one’s tent and walk away,” said Roger King, RHA Chief Executive, “but this would be playing into the hands of the ... read more

The Road Haulage Association has written to the Office of Fair Trading requesting to investigate into why diesel fuel prices remain at a premium above those of petrol. “We were told earlier this year that the reason diesel prices were then some 14 or 15 pence per litre more than the equivalent petrol price was due to world demand and a shortage of refining capacity”, said RHA Chief Executive Roger King. “Perhaps this was understandable when oil prices reached $143 per barrel ... read more

The Road Haulage Association has said it is both bitterly disappointed and angry that despite putting forward a strong case for UK hauliers who seemingly received a sympathetic response from Government, Chancellor of the Exchequer Alastair Darling has announced as part of his Pre-Budget Report this week, an increase in fuel duty to compensate for the VAT reduction by 2.5 per cent. “This is an outrageous announcement”, said RHA Chief Executive Roger King.  “We have been ... read more

Telematics was the key to Lewis Hamilton’s record-breaking Formula 1 World Championship on Sunday, claims the Road Hauliers Association and is the key to the prosperity of road haulage companies and fleets everywhere. According to the association, the McLaren team used telematics to plan, learn and monitor the performance of their drivers and vehicles to get the very best from them. Telematics can readily monitor driver behaviour such as engine revving, braking, idling, as well as mpg; ... read more

The Financial Times broke the news over the weekend of a radical reform of the proposed Manchester congestion charge in a bid to resolve opposition from business leaders. The changes involve the exclusion of lorries for the first year of the charge to allow more time to fully assess the impact reduced congestion could have on hauliers. Other changes include the exclusion of the Trafford Park area until such time as the tram network reaches the area, the exclusion of breakdown services, a ... read more

Gloucestershire County Council’s Traffic Regulation Committee has approved the Cotswold Lorry Management scheme by a vote of 4 to 3 despite a spirited objection from the RHA. “This Lorry Management Scheme was a Conservative Manifesto commitment and since the Traffic Regulation Committee comprised a majority of Conservative counsellors it was probably a foregone conclusion that the scheme would be approved” said the RHA’s Regional Director Mike Farmer”. He continued “I don’t ... read more

News that the supermarket fuel price war has resulted in the price of litre of petrol now costing under one pound at some sites comes as a smack in the teeth to the UK haulage industry; the industry on which UK plc is totally reliant. “This time it’s not just road hauliers who are getting a raw deal”, said RHA Head of Communications, Kate Gibbs. “Diesel cars, originally sold as the ‘economic option’, accounted for more than 40 per cent of new car sales in ... read more

The Road Haulage Association has called on the Chancellor to vary the duty level on diesel and petrol to ensure that the pump price of the two fuels remain roughly the same – as has been the accepted price position of the two fuels for years. Even in mid-2007, diesel was typically just 2p or 3p more expensive that petrol. But over the past year the price of diesel fuel has risen much faster than the price of petrol, opening up a gap of up to 15p. This has been due to market demand and the ... read more

The Road Haulage Association has welcomed the findings of an independent inquiry into improvements to the major trunk road between London and the East Coast the A12. Currently classified as ‘of regional importance’, it carries the dubious reputation of being dubbed Britain’s worst road. The report makes 28 recommendations intended to improve the A12’s day to day performance in the medium term and to speed up recovery from accidents and incidents. These include measures to reduce ... read more

2 years ago, RHA National Training broke the mould that had restricted the options available for studying Freight Management CPC. For many years the course content had continued to grow in range and complexity and training providers continued to offer the same old “intensive’ training packages. As a result, both sides suffered as candidates and instructors alike tried to cover all the subjects. Employers were also hard hit as staff were lost for periods in excess of a week at a time; ... read more

The Road Haulage Association has welcomed progress on a new sanction regime for trucks. The Graduated Fixed Penalties, Financial Penalty Deposit and Immobilisation Schemes consultation is published today by the Department for Transport. “These schemes have wide implications and we will be studying them in detail. We also hope to discuss with the DfT on the detail of how they are to be implemented, which will be as important as the regulations,” says chief executive Roger King. “Our main ... read more

The Road Haulage Association has welcomed the findings of the Transport Select Committee that the high fuel taxes UK hauliers pay compared with their EU rivals are clearly unfair and that the Government should take action. In its Freight Transport Report, published on Friday last week, the committee states the case that the RHA has been making to the Government for years - and the committee pulls no punches. “The committee’s strongly-worded support is timely - we made the case again ... read more