Trump Promises More Than $100 in Savings Per Fill-Up, But Truckers Say Red-Dyed Diesel Expansion Offers Only ‘Minimal Relief’
Major U.S. trucking groups are questioning whether President Donald Trump‘s executive order expanding highway use of red-dyed diesel will provide meaningful relief, warning that temporarily reducing fuel taxes will not increase supply or resolve the diesel shortage, keeping diesel prices above $6 per gallon.
Trucking Groups Question Scope Of Relief
Expanding dyed diesel "does not create additional fuel or address the underlying supply crunch that is driving prices higher," American Trucking Associations executive Henry Hanscom said Tuesday in a statement shared with Politico. "Our priority is meaningful, reliable relief that lowers operating costs without creating new compliance burdens."
Trump temporarily opened tax-exempt dyed diesel to highway use on Monday. His order directs Treasury to consider deferring the federal tax on qualifying highway use through Dec. 31 without interest or penalties and explore eliminating the deferred liability altogether.
Federal taxes add 24.4 cents per gallon to highway diesel, while average state taxes add about 35.5 cents, according to EIA data. The White House says a 250-gallon fill could save about $60 federally and more than $100 where states provide corresponding relief.
Independent Truckers Warn Relief Is Limited
The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association was similarly skeptical. "Allowing the wider use of red-dyed diesel will provide minimal relief," CEO Todd Spencer said in a statement published in OOIDA’s own affiliated publication, Land Line. He added that every $1-per-gallon increase costs members roughly $400 weekly and warned sustained prices could force drivers out of business.
The criticism follows weeks of record diesel prices and debate over an export ban. Reuters reported Tuesday that EIA expects diesel to remain above $6 through October as global inventories fall and war-related disruptions keep fuel markets tight.
Analysts Flag Tax And Compliance Risks
Analysts also question how easily truckers can use the relief. ClearView Energy Partners said in a note cited by Politico that retailers may hesitate to sell dyed diesel without collecting federal taxes until Treasury clarifies whether those taxes must eventually be repaid.
GasBuddy analyst Patrick De Haan has separately warned that the federal order does not override state restrictions. A carrier crossing several states could legally use dyed fuel in one jurisdiction but face penalties in another, making the roughly 24-cent federal saving unattractive to compliance departments.
Photo courtesy: Rawpixel / Shutterstock