The American Trucking Associations (ATA) has revised the trucking industry’s projected fuel costs to $85 billion for 2005 in light of the energy impact caused by Hurricane Katrina and the Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) newly released fuel price forecast.
The $85 billion projections is a $23 billion increase over 2004.
“Congress needs to ensure that the industry has access to enough fuel at reasonable prices so that motor carriers can continue to deliver America. Steps must be taken to reduce the magnitude of recent price spikes,” said Bill Graves, ATA president.
The Energy Information Administration has significantly increased its estimates for average fuel prices this year, as well as for 2006.
In its Short Term Energy Outlook, EIA projected diesel fuel would average $2.41 per gallon in 2005, up from a previous estimate of $2.29 per gallon. At the same time, EIA projected diesel would average $2.50 per gallon in 2007.