As part of its campaign to persuade the government to reduce the burden of fuel duty on diesel for UK industry, the Freight Transport Association (FTA) is making posters and stickers available for use in offices and on vehicles.

The price of diesel for commercial vehicles has increased by more than 40 per cent during the last 12 months due to the steep increase in world oil costs, says the FTA. The association maintains that the problem is further complicated in the UK by the government’s ultra-high fuel duty regime - UK diesel duty is 50p per litre compared with an average for the rest of Europe of just 25p per litre. Given that all goods have to be delivered, these high fuel costs are placing a heavy burden on the whole of UK industry and on the transport sector in particular.

FTA’s director of external affairs, Geoff Dossetter said: “The whole UK population is suffering from the impact of higher oil prices. However, we believe that the public is sympathetic to the special problems of the transport sector, which delivers the goods on which we all rely. High fuel prices for the transport industry contribute to inflation for all of us.

“The chancellor and the government cannot do much about the world price of oil but they can, and should, cut diesel duty to a level more in line with our competitors from the rest of Europe. FTA has submitted suggestions as to how this could be done with minimal impact on the whole budget.

“The new posters and stickers are designed to remind the public of the facts and the problems and we hope to see their widespread use.”

The campaign’s posters and stickers are available free of charge from the FTA website or FTA’s shop.

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