Editorial: Still Missing a National Fuel Policy

This story appears in the Nov. 12 print edition of Transport Topics. Click here to subscribe today.

The fuel price spiral has resumed, sending diesel and crude oil costs to never-before-seen levels, even as the economy stumbles along and fleets grapple with declining freight levels in 10 of the past 12 months.

The industry staggers as drivers pay $3.303 a gallon for diesel on average and $3.013 for gasoline. Meanwhile, crude oil flirts with $100 a barrel for the first time in history.

All for the want of a government fuel policy.

The record diesel average was broken last week in the Department of Energy’s survey of filling stations, jumping past the old record, set during the wild price jumps following hurricanes that devastated the Gulf Coast in 2005.

And there appears to be no relief in sight.

The reasons for the run-up seem to change as often as prices on the commodity ex-changes. Among the latest explanations is that since the value of dollar is falling, oil producers are demanding more dollars. Of course, one of the reasons the dollar contin-ues to weaken on currency markets is because of ever-rising fuel prices.

Prices are continuing to increase, even though the peak driving season is behind us and the competition for refinery capacity between gasoline and distillates (diesel and heating oil) is easing.

But this year, we are told, global demand for diesel is stronger than ever, which is push-ing prices up.

Once again, we are feeling the pain of not having a national fuel strategy, leaving us at the mercy of the cartel of oil producers and refiners and the machinations of commodity speculators.

That lack of planning has left us at the mercy of market fluctuations and with no reason-able hope that things will change anytime soon.

With demand for trucking capacity softening, it remains to be seen if shippers once again will be willing to pay fuel surcharges.

If more of the burden of skyrocketing fuel prices falls directly on fleets, we can look for-ward to a new wave of bankruptcies and another cut in fleet capacity.

We continue to suffer from a lack of federal leadership on fuel prices and related issues, and that is a cost that we all pay.