Washington—A broad coalition representing more than 350 trucking fleets, shippers, and supporters of freight movement urged Congress to extend the ‘Section 40A’ Biodiesel Blenders’ Tax Credit (BTC) to lower supply chain costs and protect consumers from inflationary pressures on all goods moved by truck.
Expiration of the Biodiesel Tax Credit has triggered significant disruption in biofuel supplies, leading to increased fuel prices for the surface transportation industry and heightened market volatility, the organizations wrote in a letter to the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Committee on Finance.
“To continue our progress to sharply lower emissions, the trucking industry needs more affordable, technology-neutral solutions in the immediate term, including alternative fuels like biodiesel and renewable diesel,” said Henry Hanscom, American Trucking Associations Senior Vice President of Legislative Affairs. “Extending the highly successful Biodiesel Tax Credit would expand access to these low-carbon, proven energy sources, dramatically reducing our environmental impact as well as transportation costs.”
Biodiesel has historically been the most widely used biofuel in trucking, with fleets consuming nearly two billion gallons in 2023, according to a study published by the American Transportation Research Institute. Biofuels represent an important piece of the trucking industry’s strategy to reduce carbon emissions from the nation’s commercial trucking fleets while lowering fuel costs.
Low fuel costs are essential for reducing the cost to consumers for goods transported by truck. The Biodiesel Tax Credit ensures that motor carriers can pay less for fuel and shippers pay less for freight. More than 70 percent of the nation’s freight moves by truck, with fuel costs accounting for nearly 40 percent of fleet operating expenses.
Extending the Biodiesel Blenders’ Tax Credit will restore stability to the biofuel market, preventing higher fuel prices and protecting consumers while safeguarding the ability of motor carriers to reduce carbon emissions in the nation’s existing commercial fleets.
Without an extension of the Biodiesel Blenders’ Tax Credit, critical fuel supplies will continue to shrink, placing additional pressure on inflation-weary consumers who are highly sensitive to the rising costs of essential goods.
“For twenty years, this bipartisan tax credit has extended the diesel supply and imposed downward pressure on the price we pay for fuel,” the companies said in the letter. “Without a renewal of the BTC, consumers could face higher costs not only for fuel but for everyday goods, from food and beverages to medicine.”
Since the Biodiesel Blenders’ tax credit expired at the end of 2024, biodiesel production has plummeted by more than 50 percent, undermining the trucking industry’s longstanding investments in cleaner energy and access to lower cost fuel.
May 02, 2025