Olympics 'will push up haulage costs'

Date: 4/8/2011

The distribution and haulage industry is expecting costs to rise significantly once next summer's Olympic Games get underway.

According to the Road Haulage Association (RHA), customers making use of such services in the capital should brace themselves to face higher charges during the event.

This is because the area will be subject to traffic management restrictions, while there will also be many more people in the city, which will make it difficult to transport goods by road.

"We have reviewed the information available from the Olympic Delivery Authority and Transport for London with members from across the industry and it is clear that we are going to need more trucks and more staff to meet the existing business requirements, let alone the needs of the Games themselves," says RHA Director of Policy Jack Semple.

The group is now contacting its members and working on raising awareness among the public of the fact that they should not underestimate the impact the Olympics will have but take steps to prepare now.

However, an earlier report by the Freight Transport Association revealed that only one-third of firms in the UK's logistics sector believe they are "adequately" ready to cope with next summer's predicted disruptions.

Posted by Mary Treen