American Trucking Associations (ATA) President and CEO Bill Graves, in a Feb. 7, 2003 letter to President Bush, expressed concern that recent diesel price hikes will have “devastating impacts on the trucking industry.” In the letter, Graves said it now costs a motor carrier approximately $120 more each time it refuels a truck compared with the same time last year. Graves, who sent President Bush a similar letter on Jan. 13, 2003, said that in the several weeks since sending his first letter the trucking industry has spent an additional $36 million on diesel fuel. Graves concluded that the best option is for President Bush to authorize a release from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to “avert a potential crisis in the domestic refinery system as a result of extremely tight crude oil stocks.” Graves added that a release from the SPR would also help alleviate potential additional price increases in the event of war in Iraq.