Road Haulage Association

Road Haulage Association

Category: Trade Association

The Road Haulage Association (RHA) is the UKโ€™s principal trade association for haulage companies, representing โ€œthe legitimate interests of its members to government, to the industry and its customers, and to society as a wholeโ€, according to its website.

The RHA has been strongly opposed to increases in fuel duty and criticised the introduction of Clean Air Zones (CAZ) in cities across the UK. It has played an active role in lobbying local authorities on the issue, arguing that CAZs are ineffective and putting hauliers out of business. 

The RHA has also vocally opposed the introduction of low traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs) and new cycle lanes, which were implemented as part of the governmentโ€™s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The organisation provides a range of services to its more than 7,000 member companies, who operate over 250,000 vehicles, including audits, risk assessments, contracts of employment and training courses.

The Managing Director of Transport at DHL Supply Chain UK & Ireland sits on the RHA‘s board of directors, and XPO Logistics, Freightlink Europe and Wincanton also confirmed to DeSmog they were members.

The RHA publishes the magazine Roadway and runs an app called RoadwayLive to keep users up-to-date on industry news and the status of major roads.

According to its latest available report submitted under trade union legislation, it reached over 2 million readers and listeners through media appearances, a large increase on the previous year.

The RHA has a well-resourced lobbying team in Westminster, which it says โ€œhas had significant influence in the policies and actions of government and its agencies, including major wins for the industryโ€. 

The organisation is currently leading a mass legal action against European HGV manufacturers involved in price-fixing, seeking compensation for companies and individuals who leased a truck from 1997-2011.

The RHA has run a number of successful campaigns over the years. It lobbied for the speed limit for HGVs to be increased from 40 to 50mph and called for a levy to be imposed on foreign HGV operators using UK roads as a way of levelling the playing field with UK hauliers, who are required to pay road tolls in mainland Europe. 

Along with the Freight Transport Association, it is also a โ€œfounding backerโ€ and funder of the anti-fuel duty Fair Fuel UK campaign. The RHAโ€™s Chief Executive, Richard Burnett, spoke at the 2018 parliamentary reception of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Fair Fuel for UK Motorists and UK Hauliers, administered by the campaign group. In March 2020 its Policy Director thanked FairFuel for keeping the issue on the political agenda, shortly before the government announced a freeze on fuel duty for the tenth successive year. 

The RHA jointly owns The Commercial Vehicle Show LLP company, which runs the annual Commercial Vehicle Show, with the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders

Road Freight and Logistics APPG

As part of its lobbying efforts, the RHA runs the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Road Freight and Logistics, chaired by former Roads Minister Sir Mike Penning. Its officers include fellow Conservative MPs Sir Peter Bottomley and Darren Henry, Labour MPs Charlotte Nichols and Tonia Antoniazzi, and the SNP MP Gavin Newlands.

In February 2020, the APPG launched an inquiry into โ€œproblemsโ€ the industry is facing from CAZs being implemented in UK cities such as Birmingham and Leeds.

Penning has been a strong supporter of the industry and previously asked parliamentary questions about the possibility of introducing a rebate on fuel duty to the road freight industry.

The APPG is administered by Tendo Consulting, a PR company whose clients have included the industry-backed campaign A Fair Tax on Flying, which advocates cutting air passenger duty by 50 percent โ€œat leastโ€. Tendo also administers an APPG on the issue.

The British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association, which represents companies involved in vehicle rental, leasing and fleet management, is also listed among Tendoโ€™s โ€œcurrent and recent clientsโ€. Both the BVRLA and the RHA are part of a coalition strongly critical of Clean Air Zones, as detailed below.

Funding 

The RHA had ยฃ12m of revenue in 2018, according to its annual report, with a third coming from its 7,000+ members and the remainder from unspecified โ€œOther Incomeโ€.

The organisationโ€™s 2020 conference was due to be sponsored by the tyre manufacturer, Michelin.

Air Pollution Lobbying

According to its website, the RHA โ€œagrees that some action should be taken to discourage inappropriate use of diesel as a fuel, in particular in urban areasโ€ and says it makes sense to โ€œre-consider some of the incentivesโ€ that encourage the purchase of new private diesel vehicles. It has said it is โ€œfully committed to safer, cleaner diesel vehiclesโ€ and spoken of the โ€œneed to bring down harmful Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) emissionsโ€.

Clean Air Zones

However, the organisation has also opposed the introduction of CAZs, which its Chief Executive listed in 2018 as one of the five major challenges facing the industry.

In March 2020, it described current CAZ policies as โ€œexpensive, inflexible and ineffectiveโ€ and requiring reform โ€œas a matter of urgencyโ€. It claimed the policy was seeing โ€œhard-working and long-established firms go out-of-businessโ€. The organisationโ€™s Policy Director Duncan Buchanan has also called them an โ€œanti business tax grabโ€.

In its โ€œ2020 Budget Submissionโ€, it argued that the sectorโ€™s investment in the latest โ€œEuro VIโ€ lorries, which it calls โ€œUltra Low Emissionโ€, had โ€œreduced NOx from lorries by around 60%โ€. 

The RHA said that CAZs had become a โ€œcase study in how not to drive change in a sustainable wayโ€ because of its โ€œdemands on local authoritiesโ€ and the โ€œdiscriminatory targetingโ€ of sectors such as road haulage.

The document also claimed that the policy is causing a โ€œcliff-edgeโ€ in the resale values of older vehicles, arguing that it should โ€œrespect the natural lifecyclesโ€ of HGVs. It further argues that charges imposed on older models should be phased in gradually between 2020 and 2024 in order to stabilise resale values and incentivise the use of newer, cleaner models.

In its 2018 annual report, the RHA claimed that it was a โ€œmajor influencerโ€ in Southamptonโ€™s decision to abandon a charging CAZ.

โ€œVigorous campaigning by the RHA has produced some success: Southampton has scrapped plans to charge lorries โ€“ as have Derby and Nottingham โ€“ Cardiff is undecided and in Scotland our efforts have moved Holyrood to shelve plans to charge,โ€ it noted.

The RHA has also recommended that local authorities should consider charging only the oldest, dirtiest HGVs and impose lower charges for medium-age models. 

In another policy statement, the RHA claims that the sectorโ€™s โ€œenvironmental performance has been transformedโ€ in recent years and that โ€œmodern lorries are efficient and quietโ€.

Elsewhere, the RHAโ€™s Chief Executive argues that the current CAZ policy is โ€œcounterproductiveโ€ because it will divert freight from lorries onto smaller vans, leading to an overall rise in congestion and emissions. He also claims HGVs and buses account for โ€œjust 5% of NOx emissionsโ€ and that there should therefore be a โ€œmore proportionate responseโ€.

Reacting to the governmentโ€™s proposed 2035 ban on new of petrol and diesel cars and vans, announced in February 2020, the RHA tweeted that there was โ€œa very long way to go before an efficient, cost-effective alternative to diesel-powered trucks can be foundโ€.

Chris Ashley, RHAโ€™s Head of Policy on the Environment and Regulation, told DeSmog the organisation โ€œabsolutely supports the aim to improve air qualityโ€ but said โ€œfaultyโ€ policies had โ€œdistorted vehicle replacement cyclesโ€. He called on the government to โ€œre-design and phase-in CAZ standardsโ€ so that the industry could play its part in โ€œpromoting a sustainable, healthy environment that supports jobs and growthโ€.

An RHA spokesperson added that the industry had been left feeling โ€œattackedโ€, with the second-hand value of their vehicles disappearing and a โ€œpatchworkโ€ of different schemes creating further difficulties.

Low Traffic Neighbourhoods

The RHA has voiced opposition to emergency active travel measures – including low traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs), wider pavements and pop-up cycle lanes – introduced by the government in 2020 to increase socially-distanced travel in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

In March 2021, the RHAโ€™s Policy Director Duncan Buchanan tweeted that the roads in a recently cancelled low traffic neighbourhood in London โ€œhave not been awash with vehiclesโ€ and that the LTN was the โ€œwrong solution that is more about privatising public assets & raising taxโ€.

In November 2020 the RHA, Fair Fuel UK, Alliance for British Drivers (ABD), and the APPG on Fair Fuel for UK Motorists and Hauliers wrote to Secretary Grant Shapps criticising what it referred to as the โ€œuncalled-for war on the motoristโ€. The groups called on Shapps to stop the roll-out of LTNs and withdraw โ€œthe plethora of new road narrowing, blockades and dedicated cycle lanesโ€ introduced during the pandemic, as well as to cancel a planned extension of Londonโ€™s Congestion Charge Zone.

Commenting on the letter, RHA Chief Executive Richard Burnett said: โ€œWe consider that DfTโ€™s ยฃ42m investment in โ€˜greenโ€™ road schemes that include additional cycle lanes and road closures to be very poorly timedโ€. Burnett added that the schemes were causing โ€œadditional congestionโ€ and showed โ€œabsolutely no consideration for the sector responsible for keeping store shelves full and maintaining the drugs and PPE that hospitals so desperately need to save livesโ€.

In August 2020, Buchanan tweeted that โ€œLTN’s = Ludicrous Traffic Neighbourhoodsโ€ and that the schemes โ€œdamage economic, social & environmental well-beingโ€.

Freight Industry Coalition

The RHA belongs to a coalition of trade bodies representing the road transport sector that has strongly criticised charging CAZs and wants to see non-charging alternatives implemented instead. Other members include the Freight Transport Association, the British Vehicle Rental & Leasing Association and the National Franchised Dealers Association.

In 2018, the coalition published a plan entitled โ€œThe Way Forwardโ€ setting out alternative measures to CAZs, such as smarter traffic management. It argued CAZs were unfairly targeting HGV operators and met with Transport Minister Jesse Norman and Environment Minister Therese Coffey to discuss the recommendations.

The coalition has also published a โ€œfactsheetโ€ arguing that there are currently no viable alternatives to diesel for HGVs and that small and medium sized businesses would be worst affected by CAZs. It also criticised the charging system for not distinguishing between different types of older diesel lorries.

The factsheet said that lorries were being โ€œasked to bear the greatest burden in reducing emissionsโ€, despite not being the only source of NOx, and that the charges would โ€œresult in a tax on freight, a tax on business and higher prices for everyoneโ€.

Fuel Duty

The RHA argues that fuel duty is โ€œnot the appropriate tool to drive long-term changeโ€, which it says harms UK competitiveness and should be reduced. It instead advocates tackling congestion, reforming โ€œtraffic control measuresโ€ and encouraging the use of non-diesel vehicles as โ€œviable and effective approachesโ€.

It also recommends โ€œencouragingโ€ petrol hybrid cars, electric cars and the โ€œuse of these technologies in taxi and bus fleetsโ€.

Ahead of the 2020 Budget, its top demand of the Treasury was a rebate of 15p per litre of fuel for the road haulage industry, โ€œwhich would effectively cut fuel duty to German levelsโ€, it said.

The RHAโ€™s Managing Director of Policy & Public Affairs Rod McKenzie also criticised government plans to cut subsidies for โ€œred dieselโ€, used in heavy machinery, saying it would โ€œadd ยฃ100m to the cost of delivering food to supermarketsโ€.

It has also previously claimed that a 3p cut in fuel duty would lead to a ยฃ1 billion boost to the economy and 8,000 more jobs, based on a 2016 report by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR), commissioned for the Fair Fuel UK campaign group, of which the RHA is a founding backer. CEBR describes itself as an independent economics consultancy, though its founder and deputy chairman Douglas McWilliams congratulated Fair Fuel in March 2020 on helping to keep fuel duty frozen.

Key Arguments in Order of Prominence

  1. CAZs are a blunt tool, imposing the same charge on all older, non-compliant lorries and damaging the resale value of medium-age models
  2. The road haulage industry has already reduced NOx emissions considerably and modern lorries are โ€œefficient and quietโ€ 
  3. Clean air targets will be met by 2024 without charges
  4. CAZs are being implemented too suddenly and should be phased in over a number of years, in line with HGVsโ€™ โ€œnatural lifecyclesโ€
  5. Other, non-charging, measures such as encouraging the uptake of cleaner vehicles can be more effective
  6. CAZs are counter-productive because they cause an increase in van usage, reversing the environmental benefits
  7. CAZs will have knock-on effects, increasing costs for consumers in shops
  8. Hauliers are being unfairly targeted โ€“ HGVs and buses only cause 5% of NOx emissions
  9. CAZs place too many demands on local authorities, and their operating cost can exceed the income generated

Areas Active

The RHA is a vocal opponent of clean air zones across the UK and has responded to many of the consultations launched by cities considering the policy, as well as calling on its own members to do the same.

In its 2018 report, it listed one of its successes as โ€œlobbying representatives from local authorities to express our views on clean air zone policies to ensure that realistic emissions standards are being set and that the financial implications for the road freight industry are considered as well as the overall economyโ€.

Bath: the RHA has claimed a charging clean air zone would โ€œjeopardise businessesโ€ and that haulage companies are being โ€œunfairly targetedโ€. The RHAโ€™s Chief Executive told Yahoo News that tackling air pollution could not come โ€œat the expense of businesses priming the supply chainโ€.

It also wrote a joint letter to the council opposing the plans with Fair Fuel UK, the motoring pressure group the Alliance of British Drivers and the free-market TaxPayersโ€™ Alliance. The letter argued a CAZ could cause a decline in tourism, increase costs for taxis, coach companies and hauliers, leading to job losses and businesses โ€œgoing bustโ€. It also stated that CAZs had been โ€œshown to be ineffective, economically damaging and regressiveโ€ and suggested a tram system could be a better solution to tackling air pollution.

Birmingham: the RHA has said a Birmingham CAZ โ€œwill cause real issues for haulage firms and other businesses in and around the areaโ€. The RHAโ€™s Head of Policy on the Environment and Regulation has spoken to the Greater Birmingham Chamber of Commerce about the need for โ€œurgent reformโ€. 

Bradford: the RHA has criticised plans for a CAZ, calling the policy โ€œinflexible and unfairโ€. Ashley said hauliers were being โ€œdisproportionatelyโ€ targeted despite having reduced NOx emissions by 60% since 2013. In February 2020, it called on its members to respond to the ongoing consultation. 

Bristol: in response to a consultation on the cityโ€™s planned CAZ, the RHA argued the proposals would cause a significant increase in the use of vans. It said โ€œblanket chargingโ€ of pre-Euro VI lorries would โ€œnot do the best for air qualityโ€.

The statement also claimed that: โ€œMany local authorities have concluded that the operating cost of a charging clean air zone can [be] higher than the income generatedโ€.

Coventry: the RHA welcomed the cancellation of plans for a charging CAZ in February 2020, saying it was a โ€œvictory for common senseโ€. The RHAโ€™s Chief Executive said government ministers, who approved the councilโ€™s plans, had โ€œmade the right choice backing moves to improve air quality which avoid charging road usersโ€.

Humberside: the RHAโ€™s area manager for Humberside Mike Wales said during an interview about CAZs that โ€œit is generally felt in the industry that this is just another taxโ€. He went on to argue: โ€œFigures indicate that targets would be met in line with the ClientEarth case by 2024 without these charges put in placeโ€.

Leeds: Lesley Oโ€™Brien of the company Freightlink and the RHA expressed concern about a proposed CAZ in a BBC interview, saying: โ€œa lot of operators I know are having to totally replace their fleet and what it’s meaning to a lot of them is they’re actually considering: โ€˜should I continue in business?โ€™โ€

London: the RHAโ€™s Chief Executive told ITVโ€™s Good Morning Britain that the cityโ€™s Ultra Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ) would cause ยฃ26,000 of potential charges annually per HGV, which would โ€œput businesses out of businessโ€. In its response to the ULEZ consultation, it said that the โ€œcharging levels will be catastrophicโ€ and argued an increase in van usage would increase congestion. It said the sector needed โ€œmore time to react due to the financial demand of upgrading vehiclesโ€ because there were โ€œno viable retrofit optionsโ€. 

On low traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs), the RHAโ€™s Policy Director tweeted that a recently-cancelled low traffic neighbourhood in Croydon had been the โ€œwrong solutionโ€ for improving air quality and traffic in the area and had been โ€œmore about privatising public assets & raising taxโ€.

Oxford: the RHA has called plans for a Zero Emission Zone โ€œabsurdโ€ and โ€œjust another tax on businesses dressed up as concern for the environmentโ€. The RHAโ€™s Head of Policy on the Environment and Regulation was interviewed by ITV News about the scheme and said: โ€œthey put us in an impossible position, because there are no zero emission lorries in existence at the moment, so how can we comply?โ€ He said the RHA saw the plans as a โ€œtax on local business leading to price rises in the shopsโ€.

Reading: the RHA has opposed a planned charge for โ€œthrough trafficโ€ that uses the city as a short-cut, arguing that โ€œadding extra miles to truck journeys would increase costs and make local firms who rely on these routes less competitiveโ€.

Scotland: the RHA has called for a slower, โ€œphasedโ€ approach to the countryโ€™s proposed Low Emission Zones, arguing that sudden charging would hit โ€œnearly half the UK fleet of HGVsโ€.

In a consultation response, it said it recognised poor air quality was a โ€œserious environmental risk to public healthโ€ but argued that clean air policy should support the 12-year โ€œinvestment lifecycleโ€ of hauliers. It also claimed there was a market shortage of second hand Euro VI lorries, the only models compliant with CAZs.

Wales: responding to the launch of an inquiry into air quality by Walesโ€™s national assembly, the RHA urged the Welsh government not to repeat โ€œdisastrous mistakesโ€ made in England.  As an alternative to charging zones, the RHA advocated โ€œoffering training courses on eco-driving, enforcing anti-idling measures, optimising traffic flow, and designing effective smart car-sharing schemesโ€.

Key Actions

November 2020

The RHA, alongside the APPG for Fair Fuel for UK Motorists and Hauliers, the ABD, and Fair Fuel UK, wrote a letter to Secretary of State for Transport Grant Shapps calling on him to halt the roll-out of low traffic measures designed to promote active travel during the COVID-19 pandemic and a planned expansion of Londonโ€™s Congestion Charge Zone to the North and South Circular roads. 

February 2020

The RHA made a submission to the Treasury ahead of the 2020 Budget outlining its demands, including a 15p rebate on fuel duty for hauliers, and explaining its opposition to CAZs.

January 13, 2020

The RHAโ€™s Head of Policy on the Environment and Regulation was interviewed by ITV News about a proposal for a Zero Emission Zone in Oxford, calling it โ€œabsurdโ€.

December 17, 2019

The RHAโ€™s area manager for Humberside, Mike Wales, was interviewed about clean air zones on BBC Radio Humberside.

June 18, 2019

Lesley Oโ€™Brien of Freightlink and the RHA was interviewed about a proposed CAZ in Leeds by BBC Look North.

April 8, 2019

The RHAโ€™s Chief Executive was interviewed on ITVโ€™s Good Morning Britain about Londonโ€™s recently introduced Ultra Low Emissions Zone.

Associated Politicians

Conservative

Labour

Scottish National Party 

Independent 

Crossbench 

Social Media

The Road Haulage Association on Facebook.

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