Editorial: Where’s the Cavalry?

Average retail diesel prices around the country reached an all-time high last week of $1.536 and crept near the $2-a-gallon mark in some places. And there’s still no sign of a plan from Washington to provide relief.

At the same time, there are growing indications that unless something drastic occurs, prices will only rise some more — and they could stay at these absurd levels for a long time to come.

What must we do to get some help? While most carriers have implemented fuel surcharges, the best available statistics show that truck lines are unlikely to be recovering more than 75% or 80% of their added fuel costs from shippers.

Not to mention that some shippers find themselves in a similar plight: unable to recoup the added costs of what they’re paying to truckers for those higher diesel bills.

We need a concerted effort by our national government to affect a systemic change: tap the nation’s fuel reserves, and/or convince the oil-producing nations to increase output and insure that the oil companies are working with us, and not against us.

The time to act is now, if not sooner.

With distillate inventories at or near record lows, the nation faces bleak prospects for the coming winter. Home heating oil and diesel stockpiles need to be replenished now, before winter hits.

A severe winter could set up a situation not seen here since the days when wood was the primary source of heating one’s home. The prospect of oil furnaces going cold is bleak indeed. If the nation were faced with creating either home heating oil or diesel fuel out of the same inadequate supply of petroleum, we could face a momentous political decision: warm homes or empty store shelves.

We feel like we’ve been whistling in the dark for months now. What will it take to get the administration’s attention? How can we as an industry convince the White House and Congress that more needs to be done, and immediately?

Got any ideas you’d like to share with us?