FairFuelUK gets duty rise message across to Treasury officials

Trailblazer apprenticeships have long been mooted as a remedy for road transport’s skills crisis. However a Commons Select Committee has warned they have a worrying lack of focus and will not fill skills gaps unless they concentrate on sectors and regions where training is most needed.

Trade associations have welcomed plans for a new secure zone in Calais for UK-bound HGVs but highlighted that more needs to be done to deal with the migrant crisis that has erupted in recent weeks.

Growth in haulage rates slowed almost to a halt in the first three months of the year, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Average haulage rates grew by just 0.1% against a 2005 baseline in the first quarter of 2013, down from 0.2% during the final quarter of 2012, the latest Services Producer Price Index from the ONS has revealed.