A spokesman for The American Trucking Associations told the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works that climate change legislation would impose significant costs on American consumers. Ray Kuntz, chairman of ATA's Executive Committee, said that any substantial cost increases imposed directly or indirectly on trucks by climate change legislation will curtail the delivery of vital consumer goods across the nation such as food, medicine, and clothing.
"Constraining the country's freight delivery system would change our way of life for the worse by significantly increasing the cost of everything we buy," said Kuntz, who also is chairman and CEO of Watkins and Shepard Trucking, based in Helena, Mont.
Kuntz noted that a one-cent increase in the average price of diesel costs the trucking industry an additional $390m in fuel expenses. In addition to increased fuel costs, Kuntz addressed six other issues in his testimony relating directly to climate change legislation and the trucking industry.
