MTMC OFFERS FUEL SURCHARGE TO MILITARY MOTOR CARRIERS

MTMC OFFERS FUEL SURCHARGE TO MILITARY MOTOR CARRIERS    The Military Traffic Management Command said motor carriers doing business with the military will be eligible for automatic fuel surcharges.
   A joint MTMC-industry fuel board was formed Nov. 30 that will link the automatic surcharges directly to the price of diesel fuel, said Maj. Gen. Kenneth L. Privratsky, MTMC commanding general.
   Fuel board members agreed to use the Department of Energy's weekly fuel price as the governing national standard, and agreed to set a baseline fuel price, with a 10-cent-per-gallon margin.
   “For example, if we establish a baseline of $1.30 and the price of fuel goes above $1.40, they would be automatically entitled to a fuel surcharge,” said Frank Galluzzo, fuel board coordinator.
   Col. Clark Hall, chief-of-staff, is chair of the new fuel board. He said the fuel surcharge is a necessity for military readiness.
   “We do not want drivers refusing military cargoes” Hall said.
   Industry representatives were supportive of the surcharge idea, which came from a National Defense Transportation Association committee meeting in New Orleans in August.
   MTMC's Distribution Analysis Center has developed a draft fuel surcharge policy, and the fuel board will meet Dec. 12 to review the draft, Galluzzo said.