The American Trucking Associations has called upon Congress to address the skyrocketing price of fuel as part of ongoing efforts to limit the negative effects of fuel prices on the trucking industry, and ultimately, the national economy.

“Rapid escalation in the price of diesel fuel like we’ve seen in 2005 is devastating to the trucking industry and will result in failures, lower capital investment and negative employment trends,” ATA President and CEO Bill Graves said. “The trucking industry is primarily a small-business industry with relatively slim profit margins yet is the backbone of the U.S. economy.”
In written testimony submitted to the Senate and House Energy Committees, ATA asked Congress to increase U.S. investment in refining capacity as well as to amend the Clean Air Act to restore a single national diesel fuel standard so as to limit the magnitude and duration of fuel price spikes.
ATA said the United States for years has underinvested in refining capacity even as oil refiners operated at 95 percent capacity. As a result, when Hurricane Katrina crippled Gulf refineries, other facilities were unable to increase production to make up the difference. This made price spikes more extreme than necessary, ATA said.
At the same time, the lack of a single national diesel fuel standard generates regional price disparities and heightens localized supply shortages and price spikes. Varying state diesel fuel requirements, for example, typically prevent diesel fuel from being transported from one jurisdiction to another in times of shortage. The fact that region-specific fuels also tend to be produced by only a handful of refineries results in less competition and higher fuel prices.