On a recent episode of the AgNet News Hour, Mark Woods, owner of Wildwood Trucking in Kingsburg, California, joined the show to discuss rising diesel costs and why a new federal effort to provide fuel-tax relief may be difficult to put into practice for California truckers.
Wildwood Trucking operates more than 60 trucks throughout California and Arizona, hauling many of the products and supplies that keep agriculture moving. That includes packaging materials, drip irrigation equipment, trees and fresh fruits and vegetables moving from fields to major packing houses.
Woods said increasing fuel costs are putting additional pressure on trucking companies already operating on tight margins. Wildwood has been forced to add some transportation surcharges, while Woods said he is also seeing other trucking companies go out of business.
The conversation came shortly after the White House announced an effort to temporarily allow dyed diesel fuel normally reserved for off-road uses to be used in qualifying on-road agricultural and trucking operations. The federal action also provides relief from the 24.4-cent-per-gallon federal excise tax on diesel.
Woods said the idea could provide some relief, but questioned how practical it will be in California. Among his concerns are whether dyed diesel would be readily available along trucking routes and how California will handle vehicles operating under the federal relief when state law normally restricts dyed fuel from highway use.
Beyond the immediate fuel-tax proposal, Woods discussed a much larger concern about the future of trucking in California. He said fuel prices, insurance, regulations and other operating expenses are making it increasingly difficult for companies to absorb additional costs without eventually passing them along to customers.
The interview also explores how those transportation costs ultimately affect farmers, packers and consumers—and why Woods believes California’s trucking challenges extend well beyond the price displayed at the pump.
Hear the full conversation with Mark Woods in the player above or on your favorite podcast app.
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