Keep Surcharges Fair

The price of diesel fuel, the lifeblood of the trucking industry, took another step up last week, the 10th week in a row that truckers have had to pay more to keep the freight — and the U.S. economy — moving.

The Department of Energy, which surveys fuel stations weekly, reported that the national average retail price for diesel climbed 7.5 cents to $3.513 a gallon. That’s almost 75 cents a gallon more than diesel fuel cost a year ago, and it doesn’t look like there is any real prospect of prices going anywhere but up in the foreseeable future.

Many factors are pushing up the price of fuel right now: The brutal winter weather in New England, where most homes are heated with fuel oil, keeps demand for petroleum distillates high. But when winter eases, driving typically increases, so demand for gasoline helps keep fuel prices high.

Then there’s the Middle East; the continuing crisis in Egypt causes fuel buyers to worry about the smooth flow of tankers through the Suez Canal, adding to the price of crude oil, which last week went to more than $92 a barrel in New York and even higher in other markets.

Most important, the economy is getting stronger and stronger, which raises the price of all fuel.

But the stronger economy is a bit of a mixed blessing.

More production, more sales and more spending all mean more freight — most of which travels on trucks. Last month, the Department of Transportation confirmed in its commodity flow survey that “trucking continued to dominate the nation’s movement of freight.” By value, trucking hauled 71% of all freight, and 70% by weight.

With the tightened capacity in the trucking industry, decimated by the long and brutal recession, growing freight means carriers in this highly competitive industry can hope to recoup some of their losses and invest in new equipment.

But just as carriers start to see some daylight in the form of steadily increasing freight traffic, we see that some shippers are resisting fuel surcharges for more expensive fuel.

Surcharges help truckers stay afloat when fuel prices rise. To keep pace with economic growth and the higher costs for the safer, cleaner equipment that regulations impose, truckers have to be fairly recompensed for the fuel they buy to keep the whole economy moving.