UK trucks driven out of the international market

New figures from the Department for Transport show what the haulage industry has known but could not prove – that official statistics under-estimated the dominance of foreign trucks between the UK and mainland Europe.

In 2007, fewer than one in five trucks (19%) were UK-registered but previously, the DfT's quarterly survey showed the UK share to be between 24% and 25%. The survey was suspended when it became evident to the DfT that estimates needed review.

The new stats also show that UK trucks are being driven further out of the market. The revised estimates show a decline in market share of one percentage point, down from 20% in 2006 to 19% in 2007.

Meanwhile, the European Parliament this week voted to press ahead as fast as possible to open up the domestic haulage markets of member states to foreign trucks. A new Regulation governing what work foreign trucks can do in other countries is going through the EU process at present.

“In the UK, we pay twice the diesel duty of the rest of the EU, have a much tougher enforcement regime and a much better road safety record. Yet we are already losing not only international work but but domestic loads to foreign trucks,” saids RHA Chief Executive King.