A HAULAGE contractor has warned consumers not to expect cheaper transport prices because of the dramatic fall in the price of oil.

Managing director of Burgess Brothers Road Transport in Weston Street, Bolton, Bill Burgess, was speaking after the price per barrel fell to below 50 dollars a barrel yesterday.

Prices have been on the slide since June with the fall from 116 dollars a barrel, driven by a glut in supply and shrinking demand due to fears over the outlook for world economic growth.

A combination of the US shale boom and the weakness in the global economy – with the eurozone stagnant and Chinese growth slowing – has resulted in supply outpacing demand.

Motorists have benefited in a new petrol price war being fought by supermarkets with the Sainsbury’s bosses yesterday predicting the price of fuel could fall below £1 a litre, a level not seen since 2008.

However, Mr Burgess said cheaper fuel prices for motorists did not necessarily automatically mean cheaper transport.

“It’s an advantage,” he said. “But the reason you won’t hear much from the haulage industry as a whole is because it has been struggling and working from day to day on the minimum levels of profit.

“People are reaping what they have been losing for the last five years.

“The problem is, who knows when someone will decide to put the price back up again? We all know how volatile fuel prices are historically.

“Another issue is that when we buy in bulk, we pay cash on delivery. If we order £20,000 worth of fuel we pay for it straight away, but we may not be paid for three or four months for the work we do with it.

“Also, the price may only fall after we’ve bought that bulk order, which means there is little to no relationship between the price motorists are paying on the forecourt and what we’re paying.”

Meanwhile, Chancellor George Osborne has announced a review of the impact of the fall in global prices on items such as fuel bills, air fares and the cost of petrol.

Industries are being watched “like hawks” and officials are examining what action might be taken if the falls are not adequately reflected in consumers’ bills.