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Transport businesses call for help as diesel price hits record high

Nearly six out of 10 UK transport and storage businesses are now "very concerned" as record diesel prices intensify the pressure on them, prompting calls for government support. Diesel prices hit a record average of £2.01 per litre on 2 October, up 40.5% from the 142.38p at the end of February, according to the RAC. The UK Road Haulage Association (RHA) estimates operators are paying around £350 more on fuel for each truck every week, compared with pre-Middle East confict. For a 50-vehicle fleet, that equates to almost a £1m a year extra, if the increase persists, leaving businesses with little room to absorb further costs. New Office for National Statistics (ONS) data analysed by Parcelhero reveals that 59.8% of transport and storage businesses were "very concerned" about fuel prices, revealed in a survey conducted between 21 September and 4 October. This compares with 43% in August and 38.2% across all UK businesses. And shippers are also feeling the pressure, the proportion of businesses also 'very concerned' more than doubling, from 23% in August to 48.4%, in the latest survey. David Jinks, head of consumer research at Parcelhero, warned that the effects of rising fuel costs could ripple throughout the supply chain, from factories and warehouses to consumers. "Retailers are less exposed on paper, but they are the businesses that ultimately feel hauliers' and couriers' fuel costs through delivery rates and surcharges," he said. The RHA is urging the government to introduce an 'Essential User Rebate' of at least 15p per litre for haulage, coach, and van operators for six months. MD Richard Smith explained: "It would help protect margins, ease cash flow, and reduce pressure to pass further costs to customers. Ultimately, it would support the deliveries and passenger services our economy and communities rely on." Meanwhile, a survey on business confidence found that 82% of respondents identified a fuel duty cut as a measure that would give businesses greater confidence to invest and grow. A further 61% supported an Essential User Rebate for commercial operators. Mr Smith also called for maintaining the existing fuel duty freeze and 5p cut, cancelling planned increases, and removing the automatic Retail Price Index link. For operators, the immediate challenge is managing costs without compromising the services that keep goods moving. SNAP, which connects fleets with truck parking and other transport services, warned that rising diesel prices were compounding existing pressures from maintenance, insurance, and administrative costs. Nick Long, SNAP's head of commercial for the UK and Ireland, said: "When diesel reaches £2 per litre and businesses are potentially spending hundreds of pounds more per vehicle every week, the impact on a fleet can be enormous." He added that improving route planning, reducing unnecessary administration, and gaining greater visibility over spending could help operators navigate the pressure. With haulage profit margins typically around just 2%, according to the RHA, sustained increases could force businesses to reconsider investment and pricing, with consequences extending across the wider economy.

Port of Singapore faces new challenges - but also new opportunities

Singapore's position as a global container transhipment hub depends on its ability to remain competitive within international liner shipping networks, as rival ports accelerate investment in digitalisation and automation. At the Singapore Port Workers Union's 80th anniversary dinner on Sunday, senior minister Lee Hsien Loong (pictured) said Singapore's port competitiveness could not be taken for granted, and warned that complacency at PSA International risked losing business to competing ports. Unlike major Chinese gateways such as Shanghai and Ningbo-Zhoushan, which benefit from substantial domestic volumes, Singapore relies heavily on transhipment traffic and its role as a connecting hub for global shipping lines. Maintaining this position required the port to continually improve efficiency, productivity, and operational capabilities to remain attractive to carriers, he said. Mr Lee, who was Singapore's prime minister from 2004 to 2024, cited Shanghai's Yangshan port as an example of a competitor making significant advances in automation and digitalisation. As rival ports upgrade their infrastructure and operations, Singapore would need to continue investing to preserve its competitive edge and retain shipping customers. The challenge is particularly important as Singapore consolidates container operations from Tanjong Pagar, Brani, Keppel ,and Pasir Panjang at Tuas. The new port is expected to have an annual handling capacity of 65m teu by the 2040s, with technology playing a central role in increasing throughput and maximising productivity, amid the country's land constraints. Singapore handled almost 45m teu in 2025, while throughput in the first half of this year was up 4.7% year on year, to 22.7m teu. Mr Lee's warning reflected Singapore's experience in the 2000s, when it lost Taiwan's Evergreen to Malaysia's new Tanjung Pelepas port, prompting PSA to cut jobs in 2003, and restructure operations to restore competitiveness. Although Evergreen returned to Singapore in 2024 after securing a terminal concession with PSA, the episode illustrates the risks of losing business in an industry where shipping lines can redirect their networks towards competing hubs. Mr Lee said: "Apart from competition from other ports, the industry itself is transforming in fundamental ways. Supply chain disruptions, climate change, geopolitical tensions are all affecting shippers and port operators. Rapid advances in AI, autonomous technology, sensors, and robotics are already dramatically transforming port operations." For Singapore, maintaining its position would, therefore, depend on more than expanding capacity at Tuas: it would require sustained technological advancement and continuous adaptation to the changing demands of global liner shipping networks, he said. Mr Lee added: "These developments present new challenges, but also new opportunities. There'll be higher-value tasks which are less physically demanding; better jobs, centred on data, judgment, and decision making. PSA must keep abreast of these changes and reinvent itself.....to turn these new challenges into opportunities."

JB Hunt riding new pricing cycle - shippers must pay up

Growth alone is not the objective, JB Hunt (JBHT) CEO Shelley Simpson told investors during the Q3 call that took place yesterday after the US market close. Instead: "Sustainable growth - that creates long-term value for our customers, our people and our shareholders - is the objective." Dear client: be ready to pay up! "The largest opportunity" ahead of JB Hunt is ensuring "our pricing reflects the value we create". In other words, the $22bn-market-cap intermodal and trucking group is taking decisions expected to "strengthen ...