Why are fuel prices rising again? 

You may have noticed the price you’re paying at the pumps has started to increase dramatically again. That’s because the volatile fuel prices are having an immediate impact on our wallets.  

For most of us, this only affects our personal transportation. But for companies like you, who rely on domestic, European and International shipping, the fuel prices could be causing havoc for your transport budgets.  

We don’t like to see the fuel prices rising because we know what impact it has on all our bottom line. For some businesses, profit margins are so tight, that even the slightest fuel increase can be the difference between profit and loss (or worse).  

We understand you need your shipping costs to remain as low as possible, and we promise we’re doing as much as we can to ensure our transport logistics costs remain affordable.  

Why are fuel prices rising globally?  

We’d love to say there is a simple answer to this question. The truth is, it’s a combination of different factors.   

The Ukraine war exacerbated the situation as countries scrambled to find alternatives to Russian oil imports. The situation in Gaza, with the conflict between Israel and Palestine, has added to global fears the price of a barrel of oil could continue to rise. There have also been reported issues in Finland after an underwater gas pipeline was damaged – something which the Finnish government believes was not an accident.   

Currently, the price of oil has surged by almost 30% since June, and this has a direct impact on the price we pay at the pumps.   

International fuel prices remain volatile.  

Often, campaigners state one of the reasons why UK fuel prices are so high is because of the amount of tax paid to the treasury. But the reality is, European and global fuel prices are also incredibly high.   

According to the RAC’s European fuel price watch, those in the Netherlands are paying an average of 182p per litre for unleaded and 168p per litre for diesel – the highest in Europe. In comparison, UK prices are the 12th highest in Europe, averaging at 157p per litre for unleaded and 162p for diesel.   

The European prices are important because many of our haulage networks will be driving across European countries and, therefore, paying European costs. The volatile nature of the fuel increases means the confirmed prices we are given when we book your initial logistics may be changing dramatically in real-time.  

If there are any changes in your transportation fees as a result of the fuel increases, we will always let you know as soon as we possibly can.    

We promise to do whatever we can to lower your transportation costs  

There are ways we can continue to offer affordable transport logistics despite the rising fuel costs.   

For example, one proven way to lower your costs is to switch to longer transportation timescales. While we will always be able to offer rapid turnarounds and next-day delivery options, we often recommend clients make the most of longer timeframes to make substantial cost savings.   

Another way to reduce your costs is to switch to a part-load option. This allows you to only pay for the transportation space you are using. 

Our Sales Director Paul Rolfe comments; “Here at Waller, we always take a shipment-by-shipment approach to logistics costs. We’ll work to the best of our ability to lower your expenses where possible, and we will continue to do this even as fuel prices continue to rise. We know your bottom line depends on having access to reliable yet affordable logistics.”   

If you would like to talk to us directly about the impact rising fuel costs may have on your budget, please get in touch.