Truckers feeling fuel price pain

The Road Freight Association says they are seeing the impact of the high fuel prices on members.

CapeTalk's John Maytham asked the association's CEO Gavin Kelly if smaller companies are reporting that they're not sure if they can continue because they can't pass on the extra cost to customers and they can't afford to fuel their vehicles.

"Absolutely and it's not just small guys, it's guys who've got 50 or 100 trucks, we call them medium-sized operators."

Kelly said there's been an over 40% increase in the price of fuel, which many members are having to pay for themselves.

He said finding the extra cash is especially difficult because in the transport industry, there is a delay in payment. "So you will be buying the fuel at this new rate, this new price and only seeing the invoice for the trip that you did, if you're lucky in 60 days or maybe 90 days, and you're hoping that your customer's going to pay you."

So the real question for small, large and even corporate is: Do I have the cash reserves to fund this sudden increase in diesel? "Whether I buy it at the petrol station forecourt or whether I buy it a-hundred-thousand-litres at a time from a fuel major, I still have to have the cash. And the fuel major wants the deposit up front. So where do I find all of a sudden 40-odd-percent more cash to buy this diesel?"

Kelly advised drivers to reduce the amount of fuel that their vehicles consume and try to find better routes. "It may be a couple of kilometres longer but there aren't steep inclines and declines. There aren't massive queues that I stand in for hours and idle away because that eats fuel. You look at where you pick up the load and drop the load, are there queues there? Can I fit different tyres? Can I maintain my vehicle so it uses less fuel?... Should I go to hybrid?"

He warned that consumers will feel it down the line and may already be seeing price increases in some products.

To listen to the full discussion, click the media player below: