Road freight cost drivers
Fuel tax is the single biggest cost of running a car or goods vehicle. Twenty pence in every pound spent by road users in operating their lgvs, vans and cars is spent on fuel taxes
Bigger lorries are more road space efficient than smaller vehicles when a large quantity of freight has to be moved. Forty four tonne trucks can deliver 10 times more freight (in terms of weight) per mile of road space than 3.5 tonne vans
For businesses needing to move large volumes of freight of all types, scale economies can be gained through using larger lgvs. The following table illustrates the cost advantage of larger goods vehicles and the cost incentive to operate as fully laden as possible. Cost per tonne of payload here is the minimum cost, assuming that all tonne miles are fully laden.
(Source: FTA Manager’s Guide to Distribution Costs)
| Operating cost per mile (£)* | |||
| Cost per tonne of payload (£)** |
* includes all standing costs of vehicle, employment cost of driver as well as an allowance for overheads
** assumes all miles travelled are fully laden. Payload assumptions based on 1.7t for 3.5
tonne gvw vehicle, 11.8t for 17 tonne gvw and 26t for 44 tonne gvw
Fuel and drivers’ wages are the most signifi cant elements of truck operating costs. In 2007 fuel comprised 32 per cent of total annual cost and drivers’ wages comprised 27 per cent (based on a 44 tonne articulated lorry at 1 October 2007).
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