Expandly Blog

UK Fuel Duty Rise Would Cost GBP 2,325 per Lorry a Year

Trade bodies are lobbying ahead of the 28 October 2026 Budget, and the numbers they are quoting land in UK delivery rates either way.

Key Takeaways

► RHA estimates GBP 2,325 per lorry each year

► The Autumn Budget decision lands 28 October 2026

► Haulage margins near 2% cannot absorb the increase

► UK delivery costs now move separately from EU ones

UK haulage rates are facing an increase that has not been decided yet. The Road Haulage Association and Logistics UK are lobbying against ending the temporary 5p a litre fuel duty cut ahead of the Autumn Budget on 28 October 2026, and the RHA puts the cost at GBP 2,325 per lorry a year on margins that typically run around 2 per cent.

GBP 2,325 Estimated annual cost per lorry of the proposed fuel duty increase, on margins of around 2%. Source: Road Haulage Association via trans.info, 10 September 2026.

The current rate is 52.95p a litre. Reported government plans add 3p a litre from 1 January 2027 and a further 2p from 1 March 2027. The RHA also estimates GBP 1.9bn in economy-wide household costs. Those are trade-body figures produced to influence a Budget decision, so treat them as a lobbying position rather than a settled policy change, and check the actual outcome when the Budget is announced.

What is not in doubt is where the cost goes. Haulage at 2 per cent margin cannot absorb a fixed annual increase per vehicle. It reprices, and the reprice reaches every brand paying for UK road movements, whether that is trunking into a fulfilment site or final-mile delivery to a consumer.

For a US brand serving UK customers, this is a reminder that UK delivery economics move independently of EU ones. The UK sets its own fuel duty, its own VAT rules and its own producer responsibility regime. A cost increase in British haulage does not touch a Dutch or German delivery, and a brand with stock in only one of those places carries the full exposure of whichever one it chose.

The decision arrives on 28 October 2026. Building a range into your UK landed-cost model now is cheaper than repricing afterwards.

Ask your UK carrier what a 5p a litre duty increase would do to your rate card.
Model UK delivery cost separately from EU delivery cost; they no longer move together.
Wait for the 28 October 2026 Budget before treating any of these figures as confirmed.
Check whether your UK volumes justify holding stock in-market rather than trunking it in.

Expandly runs UK and EU fulfilment as one engagement, so a cost shift in one market does not force a rebuild of the other.

Expandly helps US ecommerce brands expand into Europe — compliance, marketplaces and fulfilment, all handled. We’ve supported 2,000+ brands make the move.

VAT registration handled across UK, Germany, Netherlands and all EU markets
EPR compliance managed from day one — packaging, WEEE, batteries and beyond
EU fulfilment from our Netherlands warehouse — fast access to the whole continent
Real-time inventory and order management across all your active channels
Dedicated onboarding, compliance and success team alongside the platform
17 years' experience, 2000+ brands expanded — Andy Hooper, Founder

The bigger picture

UK Haulage Costs Under Review Two Markets, Two Cost Bases

A proposed UK fuel duty increase worth an estimated GBP 2,325 per lorry a year shows how far UK operating costs now move on their own track. Post-Brexit the UK runs its own VAT, producer responsibility and product standards regime entirely separately from the EU, so a brand serving both is running two compliance positions and two cost bases at once. Expandly's onboarding is compliance-first, and for a brand selling into both the first step is a market review that settles UK and EU VAT registration and producer responsibility in parallel rather than one after the other. Setting both up together is what lets you shift volume between them when one gets more expensive.

Reported plans would add 3p a litre from 1 January 2027 and a further 2p from 1 March 2027 to the current 52.95p rate
Expandly manages UK and EU compliance and fulfilment in a single engagement, with one point of contact across both
A brand holding stock in only one of the two markets absorbs the full cost movement of that market with nowhere to flex

UK Online Spending

UK consumers spent GBP 118.5bn online in 2025, up 2.8 per cent on the prior year. It is a large enough market that delivery cost movements there are worth modelling on their own rather than folding into a European average.

GBP 118.5bn

Total UK online consumer spending in 2025. Ecommerce News UK.

Estimated Cost per Lorry

The Road Haulage Association estimates the proposed duty increase at GBP 2,325 per lorry a year. Hauliers running at around 2 per cent margin pass that on, which puts it into the rates brands pay for UK movements.

GBP 2,325

Trade-body estimate pending the 28 October 2026 Budget announcement. RHA and Logistics UK via trans.info, 10 September 2026.

UK-Ready from Day One

Post-Brexit, the UK runs its own VAT, EPR and product standards regime entirely separately from the EU. Expandly sets up UK compliance as a standalone or as part of a combined EU expansion.

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brands expanded with Expandly

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let's talk.

Expandly helps US ecommerce brands expand into Europe — compliance, marketplaces and fulfilment, all handled.

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UK Fuel Duty Rise Would Cost GBP 2,325 per Lorry a Year

In This Article

Key Takeaways

The bigger picture

UK Haulage Costs Under Review Two Markets, Two Cost Bases

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