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Jul 12, 2011 4:03 PM

The American Trucking Associations applauded the Obama administration and the International Energy Agency for releasing a total of 60 million barrels of oil to offset supply disruptions and calm rising prices, including 30 million barrels from the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

“ATA appreciates the step the Obama administration and IEA have taken to relieve high oil prices,” said Bill Graves, ATA president and chief executive officer, in a statement. “High fuel costs hurt trucking companies by increasing operational costs and by reducing freight volumes.”

However, Graves said the administration’s response to high fuel prices cannot be limited to the short-term solution of tapping emergency reserves.

“The trucking industry alone consumes roughly 97.7 million gallons of diesel fuel each day,” he said. “The 30 million barrels the Obama administration will release into the market is enough crude oil to supply our nation for just a couple of days. The administration must act quickly and decisively to implement a longer-term solution by expanding access to domestic supplies of oil by expanding offshore production.”