The haulage boss

FOR Andrew Turnbull, the Chancellor managed to tread the fine line between giving away too much and not enough.

Large reductions in fuel duty could have tempted more firms into the market, increasing competition and driving down costs.

But he said the industry was desperately in need of some help after years of successive increases in running costs.

Andrew, who runs a nine-truck haulage company between Croft and Middleton Tyas, near Darlington, transporting animal feed nationwide, has a monthly fuel bill of £36,000.

And he estimated the 3p a litre cut in duty on diesel would save about £1,200 a month.

But the major benefit will come with the reform of vehicle tax, which the Chancellor estimated would represent a saving of £715 per vehicle.

Andrew said: "He didn't want to be taking 15p off fuel because that would mean more trucks on the road.

"But the changes in vehicle tax are going to make a big difference. Our new trucks qualified for a £1,000 rebate last year, and now this will help our five older trucks.

"This last year has been very tight but I think these measures are going to be good for us and it seems the Chancellor has got it about right."

Malcolm Dodds, area manager for the Northern region for the Road Haulage Association, also welcomed the tax changes, but said the reduction in fuel duty did not go far enough.

"We welcome any measures that stop our costs going up, but a 3p cut in duty starting from the next Budget isn't enough," he said.

"We have been campaigning for a 32p a litre cut to make us competitive with our foreign counterparts, and there will be some companies who won't be here in time to get the benefit of this reduction next year.

"Hauliers will be pleased at some of the measures but disappointed that the Chancellor did not address the fuel issue more substantially."

But he welcomed the move to introduce a disc scheme to make foreign lorries pay to use British roads, although the level of the charge, expected to be about £1,500, has not been confirmed