Trucking Leaders Disagree on Effect High Temperatures Have on Fuel Costs

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A top official with the Truckload Carriers Association called a recent article outlining the billions of dollars U.S. consumers are allegedly being overcharged for fuel dispensed at high temperatures “jaw dropping,” and said it warranted further study by the trucking industry.

Other groups had widely variable views of the issue, ranging from calls for legislation to saying the story distorted the fuel-temperature picture.

Jim O’Neal, first vice chairman of TCA and president of O&S Trucking, suggested a joint task force of TCA and American Trucking Associations might be able to determine how much the industry is overpaying for fuel dispensed at retail pumps at temperatures higher than the national standard of 60 degrees Fahrenheit, a figure he said would be “substantial.”

“There certainly appears to an opportunity to work with petroleum companies to eliminate the problem associated with hot fuel — giving trucking the break it deserves . . . to help offset tremendous increase in diesel fuel,” O’Neal said.

“ATA and TCA are not here to create publicity nightmares for the petroleum industry. We are partners in an endeavor to service the nation’s transportation needs,” he said. O’Neal said he had checked with sources who said the information in the story appeared to be correct.

American Trucking Associations declined requests by Transport Topics for comment on the hot-fuel issue, raised by a story in The Kansas City Star late last month, portions of which were published in TT.

John Siebert, project manager of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association Foundation, said his group planned to do more than study the issue.

“We are going to continue on a wide front to educate the public and see if we can find interested national legislators,” he said. “We want to get a bill passed through Congress that would give state weight-and-measure officials a mandate to recommend temperature compensation.”

However, Robert Braswell of the Technology & Maintenance Council, and officials of several large fleets who asked not to be identified, suggested the article had made too much out of the issue. They said the energy content of fuel can be affected by temperature changes throughout the distribution process, including once in a vehicle’s fuel tank, not just when dispensed at pumps.

The fleet executives also said they believed energy content lost during the warmer months was regained in the winter in much of the nation. In addition, some fleets’ bulk fuel purchases are temperature-compensated, unlike fuel sold at retail pumps.

TCA’s O’Neal said the issue had created the “perception of dishonesty” of the petroleum industry and he urged it to restore the trucking industry’s confidence.

“It was disappointing to read there is a solution to this problem,” he said, referring to the temperature-monitored fuel pumps installed in Canada during the 1990s. “It seems there has not been anything done to correct it here since the cash is going the way of the oil company instead of the consumer.”

Mindy Long of NATSO, a trade association representing travel plazas and truck stops, said in a statement: “There is no effort on the part of the retail fueling industry to profit from the fluctuations in fuel due to environmental factors. . . . Retrofitting pumps to install temperature controls would be costly and this cost would ultimately be passed along to consumers. The costs would outweigh the benefits to the consumer and the retailer.”

She said vendors in the distribution chain and tank-truck carriers and terminals also would face additional costs.

Holly Tuminello, vice president of the Petroleum Marketers Association of America, which represents about 8,000 independent petroleum marketers, agreed any potential fix involving installing new equipment would be expensive.

“We don’t see it as a problem that justifies that level of response, but it is something we are looking at and will be discussing in next couple weeks,” she said.

Ron Leone, executive director of the Missouri Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association, called the hot-fuel issue “more political than anything else” and that it is “much ado about nothing.”

He said most tanks in Missouri are underground and are kept very near 60 degrees. He said he still hasn’t seen anything to indicate this is a real issue “scientifically.”

But O’Neal said the petroleum industry’s decision to take steps to eliminate the cold-fuel problem in Canada through temperature-controlled pumps has him believing this is a legitimate issue.

Said OOIDA’s Siebert: “American consumers are just as smart as European or Canadian consumers” and deserve to get a fair deal.

This story appeared in the Sept. 25 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.

By Neil Abt
News Editor