Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, January 22, 1994 TAG: 9401220107
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
Bill Ring, a manager at New Deal Truck Parts and Service in Hagerstown, Md., said three-fourths of the maintenance problems for his company's trucks during this week's Arctic-like freeze have been caused by jammed fuel lines.
The low-sulfur fuel lacks additives to prevent freezing. "That's the reason the diesel fuel is jelling up," Ring said Thursday. "It's not just this trucking company. It's all of them."
Industry officials said they must use a thinner blend of the cleaner-burning diesel to prevent freezing in the fuel tank, and even then it is wise to keep motors running 24 hours a day.
There are two grades of diesel that truckers mix to make the right blend. With sub-zero temperatures, up to 65 percent of the mix is a thinner fuel that resembles kerosene. That can cause other problems, because the thinner grade lacks lubricants to keep truck parts running smoothly.
Complaints of higher costs are not new for the trucking industry. In the fall, independent truckers threatened a nationwide strike to protest rising fuel prices.
The federal fuel tax rose 4.3 cents a gallon in October, coinciding with the new provisions of the Clean Air Act. The average price of diesel went from $1.14 a gallon in September to $1.28 the next month, the Interstate Commerce Commission said.
Trucking companies estimate they are paying an added 15 percent in maintenance costs this week to cope with the cold. That includes more-expensive fuel and more consumption as motors are kept running 24 hours a day in the frostier parts of the country.
by CNB