ATA Pens Letter to Biden Warning Record Fuel Prices Will Soon ‘Decimate Trucking Capacity’

Washington, D.C. — The American Trucking Associations (ATA) is urging the Biden Administration to take immediate action to boost domestic energy production or face “catastrophic consequences.”

In a letter sent to President Joe Biden on Thursday, ATA CEO Chris Spear warned record-high fuel costs will soon compound the ongoing supply chain crisis and “decimate trucking capacity.”

“Right now, escalating fuel prices are driving up the transportation cost of all goods, adding yet another layer of inflationary pressure on every sector throughout the entire economy,” Spear wrote. “The impact is particularly hard on the 97 percent of motor carriers that operate 20 trucks or fewer and are designated as small businesses. These fleets do not operate at a scale necessary to negotiate lower fuel prices or to offset costs from shippers.”

“Lacking the financial reserves to weather this storm, many of these companies are at risk of failing given current projections for global crude prices over the next 12 months,” Spear continued. “This would decimate U.S. trucking capacity, unleashing catastrophic consequences for a supply chain that’s already overstressed.”

The ATA’s admonition comes as the national average price for on-highway diesel now sits at its highest point in history — $4.849 per gallon — according to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Information Administration (EIA).

In fact, the average price of on-highway diesel has increased nine weeks in a row and jumped an astounding 74.5 cents per gallon last week.

As a prescription for bringing fuel costs down, the ATA is calling on the Biden Administration to:

• Expedite onshore and offshore oil and natural gas permitting to spur expanded production;
• Initiate immediate lease sales in current production areas in the Central and Western Gulf of Mexico;
• Encourage expedited carbon capture & sequestration rulemaking to ensure that America remains the world’s leader in carbon reduction technology development;
• Work with both domestic and international oil and natural gas producing nations to help reduce global oil prices; and
• Consider timed releases from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

Despite White House claims that Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. oil companies are to blame for unprecedented energy costs, fuel prices have been rising since President Biden’s first day in office when he rescinded a series of Trump-era policies which had resulted in lower fuel costs and American energy independence.

Instead of continuing on this course, the White House has focused on ushering in a transition to green energy which the ATA argues “requires a practical, actionable bridge in the here-and-now, beginning with the abundant sources readily available at home.”

“We cannot afford to ignore our nation’s current energy needs in a fog of partisan idealism about the future of energy use. The trucking industry supports an all-of-the-above approach when it comes to securing our energy future,” Spear urged.