ATA says trucking operators need review freight rates as the countdown to fuel excise increase and the carbon tax begins
June 4, 2012
Trucking operators need to review their freight rates to factor in a higher fuel excise and the introduction of the carbon tax on July 1, the Australian Trucking Association (ATA) says.
The excise will increase 2.4 cents per litre once the new financial year begins, along with higher registration charges to account for government expenditure on the road network.
Although the carbon tax will not apply directly to heavy vehicles until July 1, 2014, ATA CEO Stuart St Clair says operators still face a cost because their suppliers will increase their prices from July 1 this year.
“The tax is likely to have a particularly large impact on trucking businesses that operate cold stores, because electricity typically accounts for about 30 per cent of their costs,” St Clair says.
“In NSW, electricity prices are set to rise 16 percent on average, with 9 percentage points of the increase coming from the carbon tax. Businesses will need to take this cost increase into account, as well as the substantial increase expected in the cost of refrigerants.”
St Clair says companies offering intermodal services will also face costs, with Pacific National announcing a 1.34 percent carbon cost surcharge. The Spirit of Tasmania ferry service will also impose a 2.04 percent surcharge.
“Like every other business, trucking businesses should review their costs and make a judgement about whether they are likely to increase as a result of the carbon tax,” St Clair says.
“With just one month to go before the introduction of the tax, it’s time for every trucking business to talk to their accountant or go over their books.”
St Clair says the fuel excise increase and new registration charges will cost a typical owner-driver about $2,800 per year, while an operator with 10 prime movers and semi-trailers will need to fork out an extra $41,800 annually.
“Every trucking business needs to talk to its customers about increasing freight rates or adjusting their fuel surcharges. It’s a hard ask, but the industry’s customers need to understand that our costs are going up and we cannot absorb them,” he says.
