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ATA’s Spear Rallies TMC Fleets as Fuel Pressures Mount
Spear Seeks End to Weekly 'Whack-a-Mole' of Issues Plaguing Trucking Industry
Key Takeaways:
- American Trucking Associations President Chris Spear warned at the TMC 2026 Annual Meeting that carriers face rapidly mounting weekly challenges amid volatile fuel markets.
- He said rising diesel costs, potential DEF shortages and uncertainty from tariffs and geopolitical conflicts threaten already weak freight conditions and slow industry recovery.
- Spear urged swift action on the USMCA extension and resolution of Middle East tensions to stabilize markets and support trucking’s path forward.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — President Chris Spear outlined for attendees at the Technology & Maintenance Council’s 2026 Annual Meeting and Transportation Technology Exhibition the breakneck pace at which challenges are confronting the motor carriers that comprise the group’s membership base.
“It kind of feels a bit like whack-a-mole right now,” Spear said during a March 17 address. “Every week — not every month, or every quarter — it is every week we’ve got another issue set that is either directly or indirectly impactful on our industry’s ability to grow.”
Spear expressed gratitude for a good year of wins on the policy front in 2025 but warned of growing hurdles to the potential for a sustained rebound in rates and freight market health that he wants to see emerge this year.
“I personally was kind of hoping that 2026 was going to be an uptick here, one where we could see — with the election coming in November, one of the most hotly contested midyear elections we’ll probably witness — that we would see some easing off that accelerator and see some uptick in the economy that would benefit us,” Spear said.
The latest hurdle, he noted, was the recent jump in crude oil and diesel prices due to U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran plus the subsequent response that closed the Strait of Hormuz.
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Oil tankers and ships line up in the Strait of Hormuz as seen from Khor Fakkan, United Arab Emirates, on March 11. (Altaf Qadri/Associated Press)
Spear appealed to President Donald Trump — who he noted had been a friend of the trucking industry since his second term began — to come up with a quick solution to the geopolitical crisis before elevated diesel prices and snarled supply chains really start to bite for carriers and the freight market.
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RELATED: Diesel Costs Forecast to Keep Rising on Middle East Turmoil
Fuel price hikes crimp fleets’ margins, and the pain is likely to be longer in diesel markets than crude markets as a result of global structural tightness, according to observers.
Fuel costs were expected to be one area in which margins for fleets and owner-operators would not be squeezed further in 2026, but that has so far not been the case.
DEF Supplies Threatened
In addition, fleets face an even greater long-term threat from the impact of the Middle East conflict on the key raw material for diesel exhaust fluid, said Spear. The Middle East is a major source of urea for the United States. “The availability of DEF is a game changer for our industry,” he said.
DEF is a 32.5% urea and 67.5% deionized water solution. It is essential in helping modern diesel tractors meet emissions standards through the use of selective catalytic reduction systems. The Middle East supplies around 45% of the globe’s urea, Spear said.
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Both elevated diesel prices and a shortage of DEF have the potential to prolong frustratingly poor freight market conditions, which already are reeling amid the unsettled nature of the Trump administration’s tariffs policies.
Looking forward, ATA’s top executive also is hoping for more certainty from a speedy extension of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement trade deal. A 16-year extension of USMCA would provide certainty and offer the chance to plan and build, he said.
“I understand there are elements of the agreement that are not favorable to this White House. That’s fine. That’s what a review is for. Sit down, focus on those problems, work with Mexico, work with Canada, and let’s get this agreement going forward,” Spear added. USMCA review negotiations were set to begin March 16.
Setting Standards
Spear showed appreciation for the work TMC members do in addressing technical challenges facing fleets.
“The ATA team really enjoys working with TMC to really amplify everything that this group is trying to accomplish year over year, putting forward standards, being able to identify paths that our industry can lean on to grow,” he said. “That is a growing challenge for us — not just as an industry, but for the American economy. The entire supply chain is looking for that window of opportunity where our industry starts to pick up.”
Spear added, “It’s not a criticism of the American economy, but for the industry itself coming out of COVID, it has been an extraordinarily challenging period that we all understand has to end soon for the sake of our industry.”
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Spear applauded the work TMC members do in addressing technical challenges facing fleets. (Karen Foote/American Trucking Associations)
One challenge that has fallen by the wayside, Spear noted, is the earlier rush toward proliferation of zero-emission regulations and vehicles — notably in California.
RELATED: EPA Rejects CARB Plan to Test Out-of-State Truck Emissions
Spear stressed how the plans of “bark-licking earth muffins out in Sacramento” had been reversed since Trump took office, rolling back far-reaching environmental goals in California and beyond.
“In just one year’s time, we’ve seen that whole issue set that was keeping me — candidly, keeping me up at night — basically set aside, and has now allowed us to move forward on a number of other fronts that I know are very important to you,” said Spear.
