California truckers press state legislature for fuel price breaks
By James Cooke -- Logistics Management, 6/1/2004
Following last month's demonstrations by truckers protesting high fuel prices, a California motor carrier group plans to press state lawmakers for legislation that would lower diesel prices.
The California Trucking Association (CTA) wants "unbundled supply" legislation that would force oil companies to price and sell chemical additives that are required in the state's special clean-air diesel fuel separately from the diesel fuel itself. Dealers could then buy the fuel and the additives separately and blend them themselves at a lower cost.
CTA Senior Vice President Stephanie Williams contends that it costs oil companies only 4 cents to make the additives, yet per-gallon diesel prices in California are more than 50 cents higher than the national average. At press time, the price of a gallon of diesel fuel in California was $2.30, while the national average was $1.74.
The CTA's push for unbundled supply legislation began after independent, local drayage drivers at the ports of Los Angeles and Oakland staged demonstrations last month. Between 300 and 400 truckers reportedly took part in the protests, demanding that their customers pay surcharges to cover soaring diesel fuel costs.
CTA also is promoting a return to antitrust immunity for container truckers, a move that would restore their ability to collectively set rates. "Trucking companies that provide drayage should be able to talk about costs," says Williams. "The shippers dictate rates that don't match actual costs."
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