Freight costs could rise under truck plan

The Australian Trucking Association has welcomed a decision to set up a national trucking regulatory body, but it is concerned it could mean increased freight costs.

The Council of Australian Governments yesterday announced it would create a national organisation to regulate heavy vehicle trucks to oversee inspections and take responsibility for registration and safety.

The trucking association's Louise Belato says Territory operators will be forced to pass on operational costs to customers .

"One would hope that when there is greater consistency and better utilisation of infrastructure that costs would come down and if there is less cross border differences there would be some flow on-benefits.

However, there are charges that are going to be similar to what other states have currently, what we might see is an increase in charges."

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Fri 3rd July 2009 - 03:39pm