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Rocketing fuel prices are having a devastating effect on west coast hauliers, it is emerging this week.
Arran businesses are already facing difficult trading conditions as fears over the wider impact to the island’s economy grow.
Hauliers have seen diesel costs jump by around one third in under a year, putting upward pressure on prices of everything from animal feed to timber.
In an Arran Banner survey this week, haulage companies said that overheads are becoming intolerable and customers are either unwilling or unable to pay much more to have goods delivered.
Hamish Hamilton from Shiskine runs a single lorry haulage business, J.J. Transport, from the island.
Mr Hamilton hauls timber for the Forestry Commission between Arran and the mainland. He’s won a small increase in rates, but that’s been more than eaten up by diesel price hikes.
‘Two weeks ago we got a four per cent rise from the Forestry Commission, but fuel’s gone up in price again since then and we will probably have to go back to them,’ he said.
Mr Hamilton’s fuel bill is now over £1,000 a week. ‘Going to London is costing us another £50,’ he said.
Ben Mundell, who runs a fleet of 30 lorries from depots in Tarbert and Port Askaig on Islay has seen diesel costs go up 33% since January, mean a full tank of diesel was now £300 cheaper in Ireland than in Scotland.
‘I can see people going bust, the price of diesel is just terrifying,’ Mr Mundell said. ‘Everybody has screwed the nut as much as they can, but all this does is to lead to arguments with our customers.
‘It will soon be impossible to tender for a contract for a year. For every slight increase in diesel you are going to have to make an adjustment on price, and that’s going to affect everybody.’
NFUS secretary for North Argyll Euan Warnock warned that we could be left without a farming industry if production costs continued to outstrip farm gate prices - and called on the Treasury to lower fuel duty.
Mr Warnock told the Arran Banner that the costs were worrying.
‘If the cost of haulage has gone up 20% at a time when the value of produce has gone down by 20% you don’t have to be an economic genius to work out that you are losing a hell of a lot of money,’ he said.
‘If things don’t change, the farmer will stop producing and there won’t be an agricultural sector in this area.’
Meanwhile Scottish Road Hauliers Asssociation members meeting at Ingliston on Tuesday agreed to press the government to implement a fuel price regulator to cushion the effect of fluctuating oil prices.
Spokesperson Phil Flanders told The Arran Banner: ‘If we don’t get the support we need everybody can look forward to a more expensive Christmas.’
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