A decrease in the fuel tax credit system will see operators shrink their profit margins even further.
In its weekly Friday Facts newsletter, the Australian Trucking Association (ATA) has announced that the fuel tax credit rate is set to decrease.
The ATA says the FTC rate for diesel used in eligible trucks on public roads will decrease to 18.9 cents per litre from July 1 this year.
The decrease sees the FTC rate drop from 20.5 cents per litre to 18.9.
The ATA says the decrease is due to a decision made by Australian transport ministers to increase truck charges by six per cent per year for the next three years.
As a result, the road user charge on diesel will also increase from 27.2 cents per litre to 28.8 in 2023-24, with this increase resulting in a decrease to the on-road FTC rate.
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Following the jump up to 28.8 cents per litre in 2023-24, the road user charge will then rise to 30.5 cents per litre in 2024-25 before finishing at 32.4 cents per litre in 2025-26.
In response, the ATA has argued that truck charges should remain frozen in 2023-24 and then increase by 2.75 per cent each year in 2024-25 and 2025-26.