ARLINGTON, Va. — The American Trucking Association (ATA) has urged the US government to implement a comprehensive energy plan that will ensure an affordable supply of oil and limit the effect of rising fuel costs on the US economy.

Speaking on behalf of ATA before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Barbara Windsor, president and CEO of Hahn Transportation of New Market, Md., said the US needs a comprehensive energy plan that decreases demand for fossil fuels, increases domestic energy production and ensures transparency in the petroleum markets.

“It is clear that our energy crisis is a complex problem that requires a comprehensive solution,” Windsor said. “This dramatic year-over-year increase in the cost of diesel fuel is harmful to the trucking industry and the US economy. The fuel crisis we face today is severe.”

Windsor said Hahn Transportation’s fuel costs have increased 55% compared to last year. She also noted that Hahn Transportation purchases about 2,600 gallons of diesel fuel daily. In 2007, the company spent $1.7 million on diesel fuel. This year, Windsor said Hahn will spend an additional $950,000 on fuel.

The ATA states that the trucking industry is doing its part to reduce fuel consumption by slowing truck speeds, reducing idling and properly maintaining equipment. Such steps do not begin to offset the rising cost of fuel, according to the ATA , and the dramatic increase in the price of diesel, which has coincided with a downturn in the economy, is hurting trucking companies nationwide.

The trucking industry is experiencing the highest prolonged fuel prices in history, adds the ATA in a public statement released with Windsor’s remarks to the US government. “Today, it can cost more than $1,200 to fuel a tractor-trailer. Because trucks haul nearly all consumer goods, rising fuel costs have the potential to increase the cost of everything transported by truck, including food, retail and manufactured goods.”