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January 17, 2001 10:48 AM, EST

Trucking leaders from sometimes-conflicting segments of the industry are flirting with the idea of jointly submitting a proposal to Congress to mandate some sort of surcharge mechanism when fuel prices increase.

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The Truckload Carriers Association and the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association are trying to agree on a proposal that would mandate that surcharges be passed through to owner-operators when trucking companies collect them.

TCA President Robert Hirsch said his group is considering a proposal that would alter elements of a bill passed last year by the House that he said would have been damaging to truckload carriers. The bill died when the Senate declined to take up the matter before adjournment.

Under that bill, a surcharge would have been triggered every time fuel prices rose 5 cents higher than the preceding 52-week average as calculated by the Energy Information Service.

For the full story, see the Jan. 15 print edition of Transport Topics. .