ULSD, Ethanol Demand to Cause Tank Truck Shortage, Execs Say

rucking executives said they anticipate a shortage of tank truck capacity in the coming months, as demand for ethanol and ultra-low-sulfur-diesel fuel grows, while the Government Accountability Office said it was about to begin a study of the nation’s renewable-fuel infrastructure.

Tank truck executives told Transport Topics that increased transport of ethanol from plants to terminals — and the unresolved question of whether to dedicate trucks to the transport of ultra-low-sulfur-diesel fuel — could tighten an already strained fuel transportation market.

“ULSD and ethanol [are] driving up demand for tank trucks,” said Bill George, president of Eagle Transport, a Rocky Mount, N.C., petroleum hauler. “That places an incredible demand on an already tight industry, and that means prices for fuel may go up as a result of that tight market.”