CTAA has issued a Notice to Industry explaining how rising diesel fuel and excise costs are driving up road transport operating costs and inflation.
Australia’s monthly Consumer Price Index (CPI) indicator rose 5.2 percent in the 12 months to August 2023 according to the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released on 27 September 2023. This was up from 4.9 percent in July. Fuel prices were one of the main factors nudging Australian inflation figures higher.
The inflationary impacts from fuel price rises are consistent with the latest fuel price analysis from the Australian Institute of Petroleum (AIP).
According to the AIP, the National Average diesel wholesale price for the week ending 22 September 2023 was 210.7 cents per litre (cpl). This is up by 10.60 percent in 3 months (@ 190.5 cpl) and by 12.43 percent from the same period last year (187.4 cpl).
There is a concern that the price of diesel will rise above the spikes witnessed in mid-2022 and again in late 2022 when the diesel price edged closer to 230 cpl.
In addition, what customers don’t see directly are the impacts on the complete cost of diesel fuel imposed on transport operators through the decision of the Federal Government to increase fuel excise levied on fuel used in heavy vehicles by 6% per year from July this year (2023) through to July 2026.
Most container road transport operators levy a Fuel Surcharge on their customers as a separate identifiable line-item to account for the fluctuations in diesel prices and the other costs of fuel.
The Fuel Surcharge level set is a commercial matter between transport providers and their customers.
There is no doubt however that rising diesel fuel prices and additional fuel taxes imposed by the Federal Government are putting pressure on operators to adjust their Fuel Surcharges accordingly.
Regards,
Neil Chambers, Director
Container Transport Alliance Australia (CTAA)
