‘Taboo’ fuel theft issue costs operators millions

Shippers are ultimately paying the price for fuel theft in higher rates, according to industry sources. Fuel theft, much like corruption in African countries, does not exist. And talking about it makes the non-existent problem even worse, say those in the know. “What would be the point,” says one freight forwarder, who wanted to remain anonymous. “Everyone knows it happens, so it just gets budgeted for ahead of the truck leaving the yard.” According to Sean Jackson, managing director of Trucktek, ascertaining the exact extent of the problem is difficult for this reason. “Getting the figures from players in the industry is problematic as no organisation will readily give out the information. They see it as compromising their operations.” On the other side of the coin trying to quantify the amounts of fuel being stolen is just as difficult because anyone buying stolen diesel is unlikely to give an indication of how much they have bought. But the figures are staggering. A company operating a fleet of 100 trucks is losing an average of R1 million a month due to fuel theft, one operator told FTW. “You should be costing a minimum of 50 litres per truck per trip,” he says. “The black market for diesel is an industry of millions of rands. And sadly there is very little you can do to stop it. So most operators just ensure the loss is made up in rates and pricing.” And while most deny they have a fuel theft problem, Jackson says this is just not true. “I don’t believe there are too many transport operators who can honestly say they don’t have fuel theft. One can only observe how the anti siphon device market is growing to see the scale of the problem.” According to Gavin Kelly, operations manager of the Road Freight Association (RFA), there are various views about how big fuel theft really is. “Some operators do not experience a problem based on the programmes in place while others still struggle. The RFA has not had reports from operators regarding rampant fuel theft – neither has there been a call for research into ways to counter such a threat.” Fuel management remains critical in the operation of business. “With fuel constituting up to 40% of the operating cost of a fleet, a management plan is crucial,” says Jackson. Kelly agrees saying companies should do a risk analysis to identify where the opportunities exist to steal fuel while also having a shrinkage analysis done. “Then one can look at the various options available to curb fuel theft.”