Barbara Windsor, Hahn Transportation president, has urged the Bush Administration and Congress to implement a comprehensive energy plan that will ensure an affordable supply of oil and limit the effect of rising fuel costs on the US economy.
Speaking on behalf of American Trucking Association (ATA) before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, she said the United States needs a comprehensive energy plan that decreases demand for fossil fuels, increases domestic energy production and ensures transparency in the petroleum markets.
“It is clear that our energy crisis is a complex problem that requires a comprehensive solution,” Windsor, former chairman of the National Tank Truck Carriers and ATA vice-chairman, said. “This dramatic year-over-year increase in the cost of diesel fuel is harmful to the trucking industry and the US economy. The fuel crisis we face today is severe.”
Windsor noted that her company, based in New Market MD, has wrestled with fuel costs that have increased 55 percent compared with last year. Hahn Transportation purchases about 2,600 gallons of diesel fuel daily. In 2007, the company spent $1.7 million on diesel fuel. This year, Windsor said Hahn will spend an additional $950,000 on fuel.
The trucking industry is doing its part to reduce fuel consumption by slowing truck speeds, reducing idling and properly maintaining equipment. Such steps, however, do not begin to offset the rising cost of fuel, she said.
The dramatic increase in the price of diesel, which has coincided with a downturn in the economy, is hurting trucking companies nationwide. The trucking industry is experiencing the highest prolonged fuel prices in history. Today, it can cost more than $1,200 to fuel a tractor trailer. Because trucks haul nearly all consumer goods, rising fuel costs have the potential to increase the cost of everything transported by truck, including food, retail and manufactured goods.