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QTA says soaring diesel prices have reached a point where the cashflow burden on operators is becoming unsustainable, threatening the viability of businesses that keep essential goods moving every day.
An immediate support mechanism is needed for the next quarter via an immediate cash rebate to help operators manage unprecedented fuel costs and continue freight services to businesses, households and communities.
QTA Chief Executive Officer Gary Mahon said the industry urgently needed support through a targeted assistance package similar in intent to JobKeeper.
“A ‘FuelKeeper’ program would provide critical support to transport operators under extreme pressure. It could be calculated using a transparent formula and implemented quickly, giving businesses certainty at a time when they are being hit from every direction.”
“If immediate support is not provided soon, the cashflow pressures on operators will reach critical levels. They urgently need this support to continue operations.”
Mr Mahon said the scale of the pressure on operators was poorly understood outside the industry.
“Many people do not realise that a multi-combination vehicle can take on anywhere between 1,200-2400 litres of diesel in a single fill,”
“At today’s bowser prices, that can mean a fuel cost of more than $5000 per week/truck. For most businesses, those numbers are simply becoming impossible to absorb.” he said.
Operators are watching terminal gate prices every day to calculate fuel surcharges as accurately as possible. However, with retail diesel now surpassing $3.00 per litre, the Australian Government must recognise the real risk of it reaching $4.00 per litre. No road freight operator could reasonably have been expected to factor cost increases of this scale into their cashflow assumptions.
Road freight transport operators have little ability to absorb or recover rapidly rising fuel costs, as they are forced to pay for fuel while waiting 30 to 90 days for customer invoices to be paid.
QTA said the impact would be felt most acutely in regional and remote communities, where residents and businesses are more heavily reliant on road freight and have fewer alternatives when supply chains come under pressure.
“In regional and remote Queensland, trucks are not optional — they are essential,” Mr Mahon said.
QTA is urging the Australian Government to recognise that road freight is a critical national service and to act now to protect the operators who keep Australia moving.
Without immediate support, the nation risks more than pressure on an industry — it risks disruption to supply chains, rising costs for households and businesses, and reduced service reliability for the communities that can least afford it.
Without an immediate fuel relief package, the transport supply chain risks grinding to a halt, placing the affordability, availability and reliable delivery of essential goods at serious risk for Australians, especially in regional and remote communities that depend so heavily on road freight.
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