A coalition of more than 350 trucking fleets, shippers, and supporters of freight movement recently sent a letter to the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Committee on Finance, urging Congress to extend the Section 40A Biodiesel Blenders Tax Credit.
The tax credit expired at the end of 2024. Since then, biodiesel production has declined more than 50 percent while fuel prices have increased.
Restoring the tax credit will prevent higher fuel prices and restore stability to the biofuel market, the coalition said. If the tax is not restored, the coalition warned, fuel supplies will continue to shrink.
“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,” Henry Hanscom, American Trucking Associations senior vice president of legislative affairs, said. “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.”
The trucking industry used nearly two billion gallons biofuel in 2023, according to a American Transportation Research Institute study.
More than 70 percent of freight moves by truck. Biofuels reduce carbon emissions compared to diesel.