Senator Sherrod Brown

WASHINGTON D.C. – U.S. Senators Olympia J. Snowe (R-Maine) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) introduced today the Trust in Reliable Understanding of Consumer Costs (TRUCC) Act which would free small business operators and carriers from the stranglehold of unscrupulous brokers and middle-men who charge shippers for fuel costs, but refuse to pass on those costs to operators who actually pay for the fuel. This bill would provide not only a clear line-item delineating the fuel surcharge in the contracts provided to our small business carriers, but also would guarantee that the entity in the transaction – whether a shipper, broker, or driver – who absorbs the consistently rising cost of fuel will become the recipient of the fuel surcharge.

“Shippers are accustomed to paying fuel surcharges when fuel costs spike,” Brown said. “But there is no guarantee these surcharges go to the people who pay at the pump. With diesel prices at an all-time high, this bill would help Ohio truckers who find hauling goods too costly or impossible.”

Without the ability to recoup higher fuel costs, tens of thousands of small business truckers are finding it economically infeasible to continue their business operations. The corresponding loss in freight hauling capacity has already caused American manufacturers, retailers, and farmers to struggle to find enough trucks or affordable rates to transport their products.

“Small business truckers are often at the mercy of freight brokers, logistics intermediaries and larger trucking companies,” Senator Snowe noted. “There is currently not a uniform fuel surcharge standard for the trucking industry so fuel surcharges must be negotiated individually leaving shippers and truckers vulnerable to opportunistic intermediaries who are inflating their own coffers at the expense of small business motor carriers.”

Small business motor carriers comprise more than 90 percent of the trucking industry. On average, fuel purchases amount to more than 40 percent of their operating expenses. Retail prices for diesel fuel currently average more than $4 per gallon nationwide. Small business truckers have little ability to raise their base freight hauling rates when the price of fuel jumps.