Fuel prices set to rise again
23 March 2010
Fuel prices are set to rise from April when the Government’s announced fuel price escalator comes into play, putting up both diesel and petrol prices by an average of 1p per litre, on top of the increases already witnessed since September. Now is the time for prudent fuel cost management, says Fleet Alliance.
Chancellor Alistair Darling in his 2009 Budget statement announced that fuel prices would go up from 2p last September, on top of a 2p rise the previous April. Ally that to the increase in VAT in January when the rate reverted from 15% to 17.5%, and pump prices have increased by around 6p per litre in the last six months – with more increases to come.
The average price of diesel is now well past the £5 a gallon mark and the AA recently announced that average prices for petrol had reached 112p per litre or £5.09 a gallon, while diesel was 114p a litre or £5.17 a gallon.
Such prices clearly place the emphasis on controlling fuel costs, locating the cheapest fuel and cutting business miles as, after vehicle depreciation, fuel costs are the second biggest expense on the fleet and can easily account for over 25% of total fleet expenditure.
There are a number of ways of locating the cheapest fuel closest to a driver’s home address, which helps fleets keep fuel costs down wherever possible.
One such service is available through the website www.petrolprices.com. All the driver has to do is enter his or her post code to discover the cheapest fuel in the locality nearest to their home address.
Another option to measure the company’s fuel cost more accurately is through the use of corporate fuel cards.Fleet Alliance offers a fuel card product, Fleet Alliance Fuel, in conjunction with leading network supplier, AllStar, which is accepted at 95% of major filling stations across the UK and can play a key role in measuring and controlling fuel costs.
There are a number of other major benefits. For example, due to its wide national coverage, Fleet Alliance Fuel reduces the amount of time drivers spend trying to find a particular branded fuel outlet, thus saving both time and fuel in finding a particular site.
Drivers also have access to and can be directed to the cheapest fuel sites, typically supermarkets, but also some oil companies, through the card.
For fleet managers, consolidated invoicing eases the administrative burden associated with accounting for VAT. The fuel card invoices are accepted by HMRC as VAT documents, removing the need for drivers to keep fuel receipts and the accounts department to process them.
Fleet Alliance Fuel also allows key information to be fed back to the fleet manager via management reports which measure fuel spend by several parameters, including driver details, price, location and current mileage, and which can be integrated within existing fleet management systems.
This allows managers to identify areas where savings can be made, for example by using cheaper filling stations, such as supermarkets, or by highlighting the use of expensive products, such as super unleaded, by individual drivers or groups of drivers.
The use of the fuel card also limits purchases that are expressly not allowed. The driver cannot buy other goods with the card other than products specified on the card, typically fuel and oil.
“With fuel prices set to go higher still from April, the onus is on fleet managers to examine ways of controlling corporate fuel spend and consider a range of measures, including cutting back on company mileages and monitoring fuel costs through the use of management techniques such as fuel cards,” said Fleet Alliance managing director, Martin Brown.
23 March 2010
Fuel prices are set to rise from April when the Government’s announced fuel price escalator comes into play, putting up both diesel and petrol prices by an average of 1p per litre, on top of the increases already witnessed since September. Now is the time for prudent fuel cost management, says Fleet Alliance.
Chancellor Alistair Darling in his 2009 Budget statement announced that fuel prices would go up from 2p last September, on top of a 2p rise the previous April. Ally that to the increase in VAT in January when the rate reverted from 15% to 17.5%, and pump prices have increased by around 6p per litre in the last six months – with more increases to come.
The average price of diesel is now well past the £5 a gallon mark and the AA recently announced that average prices for petrol had reached 112p per litre or £5.09 a gallon, while diesel was 114p a litre or £5.17 a gallon.
Such prices clearly place the emphasis on controlling fuel costs, locating the cheapest fuel and cutting business miles as, after vehicle depreciation, fuel costs are the second biggest expense on the fleet and can easily account for over 25% of total fleet expenditure.
There are a number of ways of locating the cheapest fuel closest to a driver’s home address, which helps fleets keep fuel costs down wherever possible.
One such service is available through the website www.petrolprices.com. All the driver has to do is enter his or her post code to discover the cheapest fuel in the locality nearest to their home address.
Another option to measure the company’s fuel cost more accurately is through the use of corporate fuel cards.Fleet Alliance offers a fuel card product, Fleet Alliance Fuel, in conjunction with leading network supplier, AllStar, which is accepted at 95% of major filling stations across the UK and can play a key role in measuring and controlling fuel costs.
There are a number of other major benefits. For example, due to its wide national coverage, Fleet Alliance Fuel reduces the amount of time drivers spend trying to find a particular branded fuel outlet, thus saving both time and fuel in finding a particular site.
Drivers also have access to and can be directed to the cheapest fuel sites, typically supermarkets, but also some oil companies, through the card.
For fleet managers, consolidated invoicing eases the administrative burden associated with accounting for VAT. The fuel card invoices are accepted by HMRC as VAT documents, removing the need for drivers to keep fuel receipts and the accounts department to process them.
Fleet Alliance Fuel also allows key information to be fed back to the fleet manager via management reports which measure fuel spend by several parameters, including driver details, price, location and current mileage, and which can be integrated within existing fleet management systems.
This allows managers to identify areas where savings can be made, for example by using cheaper filling stations, such as supermarkets, or by highlighting the use of expensive products, such as super unleaded, by individual drivers or groups of drivers.
The use of the fuel card also limits purchases that are expressly not allowed. The driver cannot buy other goods with the card other than products specified on the card, typically fuel and oil.
“With fuel prices set to go higher still from April, the onus is on fleet managers to examine ways of controlling corporate fuel spend and consider a range of measures, including cutting back on company mileages and monitoring fuel costs through the use of management techniques such as fuel cards,” said Fleet Alliance managing director, Martin Brown.
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