March 19, 2008
Trucking Industry Will Spend Record Amount on Fuel
ALEXANDRIA, VA – Diesel fuel prices will reach record highs in 2008, according to the American
Trucking Associations (ATA). The group said the trucking industry will spend
$135 billion on diesel this year, a $22 billion increase over what the trucking
industry spent on diesel in 2007, according to Modern Tire Dealer.
“The
trucking industry is making great strides in its efforts to reduce overall fuel
consumption,” said ATA CEO and President Bill Graves, as quoted by Modern
Tire Dealer, “but an affordable supply of diesel fuel is imperative to keep
our trucks moving. There is little to suggest that fuel prices will decline any
time soon. Yet every day, ATA hears new stories from its members about how
escalating fuel prices are hurting their businesses and affecting their
livelihood.”
The cost
to fill the fuel tanks on a typical tractor trailer has increased 116 percent
(or $615) in five years, ATA said.
To
alleviate future significant fuel price fluctuations, the ATA is calling upon
Congress and the White House “to address this crisis situation and move
immediately to take steps to increase diesel fuel supply,” including boosting
refinery capacities “and the environmentally sound exploration of Alaska’s Arctic National
Wildlife Refuge and Outer Continental Shelf.”