Soaring fuel costs hit small businesses

Small businesses are bearing the brunt of rising fuel prices, the owner of a haulage company has said.

Noel Lewis, who runs Lewis Light Haulage & Storage in Stourport-on-Severn, Worcestershire, said he was having to absorb thousands of pounds a month in extra costs due to the price of fuel.

His comments come as fuel prices - driven by conflict in the Middle East - reach their highest point since 2022, with diesel averaging at £1.92 per litre according to the RAC.

A Treasury spokesperson said the government continued "to protect the British people and businesses from this crisis".

"This means drivers benefit from the extension of the 5p fuel duty cut, with diesel 11p per litre cheaper until the end of the year than it would have been compared to plans inherited from the previous government," they added.

Hauliers would also benefit from a 12-month road tax "holiday", the spokesperson said.

With six vehicles run by his company, Lewis said he was now facing around £1,200 in extra fuel costs per week.

Smaller businesses like his, he said, were now struggling to compete with larger firms with "bigger buying power on their fuel".

"They have the economies of scale working in their favour [...] if you put your prices up somebody might come in and be able to suffer that cost for a few weeks, just to knock you out the game," he said.

Lewis explained that he and his wife had been forced to take wage cuts in order to keep money in the business and avoid passing price increases onto customers.

"With businesses, you want to keep custom coming back to you so you do not want to put your prices too high," he said.

According to the RAC, the cost of filling up a vehicle is now at a similar level to when Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

The US-Israel war with Iran has severely disrupted the production and transportation of oil across the region, with the effects felt worldwide.

It is not just businesses being impacted - individual drivers are also seeing soaring prices at the pumps. Susan Parkes from Telford drives a diesel car and said the prices she pays had become "extortionate."

"We went on holiday and we had to put in an extra £20 in the tank which, brought us up to about £120," Parkes added

"You have to cut your cloth accordingly. Where you are used to having a treat, you have got to think about your meals and shopping [because of money spent on fuel]."