This paper provides an overview of the main costs faced by the UK road haulage industry at present. It gives an overview of Government policy and, where applicable, the European context, in areas such as vehicle excise duty (VED), fuel duties, road user charges, labour costs and drivers' hours rules, cabotage, and lorry weights. It follows the 2005 report by the Burns Inquiry into road freight taxes, undertaken on behalf of the haulage industry, and the Government's recent announcement that it would not proceed with a lorry road user charge. It also takes account of the policy announcements and other statements made by the Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties on these issues and the July 2008 report by the House of Commons Transport Select Committee into freight transport.