Diesel prices exceed £2 a litre at hundreds of forecourts across Scotland

Diesel prices have climbed above £2 a litre at hundreds of forecourts across Scotland

Conflict in Ukraine and the Middle East has pushed up forecourt prices

Diesel has gone beyond £2 a litre at hundreds of Scottish forecourts, according to BBC Scotland News analysis.

Some of the steepest prices are at garages in Scotland’s islands, where fuel is 50p a litre more expensive than the diesel sold at supermarkets in the central belt.

Hauliers have called the impact on their businesses “devastating”, saying it now costs £250 a week more to fill a lorry.

The RAC said it expected the UK average diesel price to reach a fresh record high over the weekend.

The continuing conflict in the Middle East and the Russia-Ukraine war have driven up crude oil prices, which has in turn increased fuel and energy costs.

The UK government said it was continuing to protect British people and businesses, and that fuel duty would not rise this year.

Dave Neil, who runs a haulage firm in Orkney, said fuel costs were “challenging”

BBC Scotland News analysis indicates there are at least 226 sites - from the Borders to Shetland - where diesel costs more than £2 a litre.

Among the highest prices are those in island and rural areas, including 238.8p and 223p in the Hebrides and 209.0p and 208.9p in the Northern Isles.

South Uist-based haulier Norman MacAskill said it cost 32p a litre to fill a lorry’s tank when he began in haulage 40 years ago, but that figure is now £2.22.

“Anyone who is running a lorry is absolutely devastated when they get their fuel bill at the end of the month. There's no business on earth that can withstand that increase in costs,” he said.

MacAskill’s haulage company, N D MacAskill & Son, moves livestock around Inverness, Dingwall and Stirling, as well as further afield.

“We do a bit of livestock haulage from the north of Scotland down to the north of England,” he said.

“It’s a devastating cost on a fuel run on that job,” he said.

MacAskill added: “This has been going on every year for the last 10 years now. The cost of running a haulage business has just gone over the top.

“There are dozens of haulage firms that have been established 50-60 years with big numbers of lorries going to the wall. When is this going to stop?”

Dave Neil, who runs Sinclair Haulage serving Sanday, Stronsay and Eday in Orkney, said his business was spending £400 a week more on diesel than it had before the summer.

“It’s a challenging situation,” he said.

Neil said he had been forced to add an extra fee to what customers pay.

“It’s probably the fairest way,” he said. “When the fuel price drops we can take that surcharge away.”

The Road Haulage Association (RHA) said fuel was costing operators about £250 a week extra per vehicle.

It has urged the UK government to cancel any planned fuel duty rises in January, March and April and to bring in an essential user rebate for coaches, lorries and vans.

Managing director Richard Smith said: “It's happening elsewhere. Spain, France and Italy already give commercial vehicle operators a diesel rebate. It's about time we caught up.

Crofter Amy Henderson said life was hard enough for people already

National Farmers' Union Scotland said rising prices were another unwelcome expense for farmers and crofters.

A spokesperson said: “Fuel is a significant input cost for farm businesses and increases feed directly into the cost of producing food.

“With many farmers currently working through harvest and other intensive autumn operations, there is no scope to reduce fuel use.”

Crofter and musician Amy Henderson, from Kiltarlity, added: “It is just deflating. Life is hard enough as it is.”

She said she was having to make “logistical decisions” about whether to use her car or truck.

Henderson added: “I have to take it into consideration when quoting prices for performing.”

James Dunbar of New Start Highland said rising fuel costs were affecting the families the charity supports

Inverness-based charity New Start Highland uses vans to collect and deliver donated goods, such as furniture, to people in need.

Chief executive James Dunbar said: “Rising fuel prices have a direct impact on us as a charity, as well as the individuals we support.

“Transport is core to our operations, from collecting and delivering furniture so those facing crisis and hardship can access essential items, to running our enterprise services like removals and house clearances.”

He said the charity was in the process of moving to a fully electrified fleet, but added that rising fuel costs directly affected the families it supported.

The RAC said the average UK diesel record would “almost certainly” be broken over the weekend.

Head of policy Simon Williams said: “The average UK price of diesel is teetering on the brink of a new all-time high at 198.32p, taking the cost of a 55-litre fill-up for a family car to £109.

“The UK now has the most expensive diesel in Europe by 12p a litre - ahead of Finland and the Netherlands.”

He added: “Petrol is now averaging 173.6p – its highest price in more than four years. Petrol has risen nearly 12p in September and more than 40p since the Iran war began.

“Diesel is up 14.5p this month alone and 55p since 28 February.”

Hauliers have called for an essential user rebate for coaches, lorries and vans

The AA said its campaigning had led the UK government to introduce pump-price transparency.

It said there were now websites and phone apps, external drivers could use to check the latest pump prices and find cheaper fuel.

The AA said there should be no removal of the Treasury’s 5p cut in fuel duty, first introduced in March 2022. It added that there was a “good argument” for further relief on diesel.

A spokesperson said: “While many big businesses pass the extra cost of diesel onto their customers, often via a sliding scale of fuel surcharges, smaller businesses don't automatically.

“These include taxi drivers, craftspeople, domestic repairs, vets, farriers and many who rely on vehicles to look after their customers.”

The UK government said it had extended the temporary fuel duty cut, external until 31 December.

A spokesperson said: “Since the outset of the war in Iran, this government continues to protect the British people and businesses from this crisis.

“This means drivers benefit from the extension of the 5p fuel duty cut, with diesel 11p per litre cheaper until the end of the year than it would have been compared to plans inherited from the previous government.”