THE UK haulage industry faces challenges today that make the problems of ten years ago fade by comparison. Driver shortages, cut-throat competition at home, predatory foreign operators running on cheap fuel and an ever-increasing legislative burden all combine to make the business of carrying a load far from easy.

Scottish hauliers suffer the same woes as their southern counterparts, but face additional challenges that will drive some out of the country, and others out of business unless there is urgent action taken.

Operators have been at pains to point out their difficulties for years now, but the issues are largely kept out of the headlines, unless there is the threat of direct action to interrupt the supply of fuel to the garage forecourts. There has been, perhaps, a tendency for the public to demonise the complaining haulier who, in the eyes of many, clogs up and damages the roads whilst mercilessly polluting the atmosphere.

But the simple fact remains, that transport is the lifeblood of the Scottish economy, employing 5.7% of the workforce, some 137,000 people. To put this into perspective 120,000 are employed in the hotel and restaurant sector, while agriculture employs only 38,000.

On Thursday 8 September the Public Petitions Committee of the Scottish Parliament met to consider a petition, lodged by RHA Scotland director Phil Flanders, calling for a public inquiry into the future prospects for the Scottish road haulage industry and any knock-on impact on the Scottish economy.

The petition was supported by Pat Glancey, RHA regional manager for Scotland and Northern Ireland, who told the committee that the general costs for Scottish hauliers were far higher than anywhere else in the European Union.

Competition from EU registered vehicles in Scotland was increasing and rising fuel costs were damaging cashflows, she said. With fuel accounting for 40% of a haulier's costs there was a problem with suppliers who were unwilling to raise hauliers' credit limits. A supply which previously lasted six weeks was now only lasting four weeks.

Legislation, she added, was placing a further burden on Scottish companies and there were currently 2,080 main statutes relating to transport law.

The impact of the Working Time Directive was also being felt, she said, and could not have been estimated during consultations before its introduction.

The convenor of the committee, Michael McMahon said that a number of years ago he had asked the then transport minister what the Scottish Executive were doing to take account of the WTD. He had been amazed to get the response that nothing had been done.

Helping to bolster the case for an Inquiry were operations director for Stewart Milne Timber Systems Ltd, Hamish Morrison, and Aberdeen haulier Rob Howie.

Hamish Morrison said his company were totally dependent on road haulage to get their products to market and asked what was being done to stop investment decisions being outward rather than inward. He added that his company had a manufacturing facility in Oxford as well as in Aberdeen, but decisions on future investment would have to question the viability of investing in Scotland or in England where their market was.

Rob Howie said he could mention 26 companies which had disappeared from the north east, never to return. He added that, incredibly, in the last four years 498 tractor units had vanished from 36 hauliers in the area. He also highlighted the example of RB Farquhar from Huntly who were moving their operation to the Czech Republic.

John Fyfe Ltd, which supplied a lot of the materials for the building of the Scottish Parliament had opened a quarry in India and was importing a vast proportion of its materials from China.

When asked by the convenor why things had got so bad, Pat Glancey said that quite simply no one had been listening. European hauliers could run in the UK for 17.3p per mile cheaper than our own hauliers:

'People say there are different tax regimes on European hauliers, but that is irrelevant for the man who wants his stuff moved from A to B. All he will see is that, at £360 for a couple of days work, Joe Bloggs from Belgium can move it more cheaply than Rob Howie of Aberdeen can'.

She went on to correct the myth that the increase in foreign registered vehicles running in the UK was in part due to the 'flagging-out' of trucks by our hauliers.

Prior to the fuel disputes of 2000, when the Chancellor increased the road fund licence, it was advantageous for hauliers to register their vehicles in Ireland or France. But these governments had soon imposed taxes, tachographs and paperwork on those companies and the majority had now moved back home.

The committee moved on to hear how the WTD had affected industries like forestry, where drivers loaded their own vehicles and therefore did not have periods of availability as such. They could no longer operate as before. Long distance haulage was also being similarly affected.

The committee heard how drivers' hours were controlled under tachograph regulations. These regulations were already strict. Not only was work being disrupted by WTD, but drivers were beginning to complain that wages were being adversely affected.

Pat Glancey added that she did not know why we had to impose that additional burden of bureaucracy on smaller businesses and on drivers when they were governed already.

John Farquhar Munro, MSP for Ross, Skye and Inverness West, said that hauliers in the north east were not the only ones affected - it was happening everywhere. He pointed out that Western Isles companies faced heavy ferry charges, with one operator having paid out more than £1 million last year.

The committee also heard how the WTD did not take Scotland's special geographical circumstances into account, and how new legislation such as that affecting the transport of livestock were adding to the problems of Scots companies.

In the case of livestock transport regulations, Scottish hauliers were forced to undertake certification, training and assessment, when the problems with livestock haulage existed predominantly in mainland Europe.

Rob Howie added that he would like to know how many hauliers were able to meet the requirements for 'sufficient financial standing'. Each vehicle had to be backed by a minimum cash reserve and Mr Howie said that given current financial restraints, he suspected few could comply with this.

Evidence was also heard which highlighted the difficulty of moving freight to rail transport. In most cases this was simply not viable. Firstly it was not possible to move goods to their final destination solely by rail, and secondly the time involved in transferring a load from road to rail to road again added so much time to the journey as to rule out any advantage.

The recruiting of drivers was also a problem, with wages not attracting new recruits. Foreign drivers were now being sought by some companies.

The WTD had placed restrictions on night workers - people wanted to work during the night, but were unable to do so. This was affecting deliveries of fish to the marketplace.

The committee decided that the local government and transport committee should consider 'the whole picture' including road, rail, ferry and air. Some matters involve the Westminster and Brussels parliaments as they concerned reserved powers such as fuel duty.