Arkansas truckers call for diesel prices hearing.

The Arkansas Trucking Association said it is petitioning Congress to investigate "record high diesel fuel prices" that "threaten the cost-effective flow of goods in the United States and the general economy."

The associations' board of directors voted unanimously to seek congressional oversight hearings into the causes of diesel prices that have reached about $4 a gallon.

Lane Kidd, association president, said Congress should act now to ward off an economic crisis.

The association's board of directors includes senior executives for such public trucking companies as FedEx Freight, J.B. Hunt Transport Services, ABF Freight System, P.A.M. Transportation Services and USA Truck, as well as the transportation divisions of Wal-Mart Stores and Tyson Foods.

The organization has more than 300 corporate members.

The group said it sent e-mails requesting hearings to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.; House Republican Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio; Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev..; and members of Arkansas' congressional delegation. "Congress should examine why supplies of diesel are plentiful, consumption is flat, yet the price keeps rising," Kidd said.

The group noted a U.S. Energy Information Administration report that said the national average price of retail on-highway diesel skyrocketed to $3.974 a gallon, a record high. Diesel prices are $1.29 higher than during the corresponding week one year ago, the group said.