TRUCKING Co. STORIES * USA - Trucking Business Has Family's Staying Power

"They're survivors. They're good truckers as well as good people. They know how to change when change is needed"

Lakeland,FL,USA -The Ledger, by Kevin Bouffard -3 April 2008: -- With 56 years in the trucking business, including the last 25 years as an independent company, Gene Hyde Trucking Co. has experienced plenty of ups and downs. But not even three generations of experience in the trucking industry will keep the company in business unless it can control diesel fuel costs, now at $4 per gallon and still rising... "Our biggest cost is fuel," said President James E. Hyde, 52, the founder's son. "I don't expect that (rising diesel costs) to slow down. Energy costs are on the rise."... The company has pursued a number of strategies to keep fuel consumption down... In January, Hyde Trucking ordered its drivers to slow down to a cruising speed of no more than 65 mph and not beyond 68 mph on passing, Hyde said. That has saved 0.5 miles per gallon fleetwide... The company has also switched to wider but lighter tires that reduce rolling resistance and save about 0.2 miles per gallon on average, Chad Kennedy, 32, project manager. said... A truck will burn 1 gallon of diesel per hour on idle, Hyde said. The auxiliary units reduce that to 0.1 gallon... Overall, the Hyde Trucking fleet is 1.5 miles per gallon more efficient than 10 years ago, Hyde said... (Photo by SCOTT WHEELER/THE LEDGER - From left; Siblings, James Hyde, June Hargraves and Dewell Hyde at Gene Hyde Trucking in Lakeland, FL on Monday January 28, 2007)