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Cutting Back * USA - Becomes way of life as economy worsens
* Trucking Firm Strikes Against High Diesel Prices
Fort Smith,ARK,USA -4029TV -May 2, 2008: -- A small trucking company is taking a big stand by striking against high diesel prices... Shawn and Francine Krivanak operate three trucks from Bates, Ark., in Scott County. Friday, they took no jobs and made the decision not to fuel up... Shawn said the majority of the deliveries they make are in state, but that has not stopped their weekly gas bill from jumping to nearly $4,000... Shawn said that is nearly double what he was paying last year... The Krivanaks said they believed it was important to take a stand... They say if enough people refused to buy gas on a single day, big oil producers might take note...
Coping with costs takes creativity, sacrifice, sense
Washington,DC,USA -Detroit Free Press, by TONY PUGH & KEVIN G. HALL -May 4, 2008: -- When long-haul trucker Rusty Wade pulled his rig into a Missouri truck stop, he noticed something strange. Of the 50 or so 18-wheelers parked in the lot, only five had their engines idling... But with diesel fuel at more than $4.20 per gallon, Wade shuts his engine down and has cut his average road speed from 60 m.p.h. to 56 m.p.h... Instead of hotels, he and his trucker wife, Mary, often sleep in their separate vehicles. And if a steady crosswind slows his pace and cuts his gas mileage, Wade will park his rig for five to six hours, if necessary, until it subsides... High food prices hurt, too... The soaring costs of core essentials like gasoline, food and housing mean they now account for 57 cents of each consumer dollar spent. That leaves Americans with a record-low 43 cents out of each dollar for discretionary spending, according to figures from Wachovia Economics Group... Dan Meldrim, president of Empire Freight Logistics in Syracuse, N.Y., had to overhaul his entire trucking business to survive... "In October, I sold my trucks because it's hard to make it as a trucking company," Meldrim said... He now operates as a freight broker, helping companies consolidate smaller loads into one to share costs... For each 6-cent rise in fuel prices, Meldrim found he needed to increase his fee by 1 cent per mile. As his costs rose by $3,000 or more each week, he often had to pass them onto disgruntled customers. So he sold his trucks...* Diesel Prices Hit Truckers Where It Hurts
Bryan/College Station,TX,USA -KBTX, by Ashlea Sigman -May 3, 2008: -- Many people across the Brazos Valley are adjusting their lives to high gas prices. However, long haul truck drivers who own their own trucks can't pass off the costs... Across the nation, diesel prices are over $4 a gallon. A full fill-up for a diesel truck can cost about $1,000... Driver Ed Leason, drove his truck here from Missouri three weeks ago, to find work. Today, he's throwing in the towel, for good... Since he's been in Texas, Leason says he's been hauling as many loads as he can, but the money isn't adding up... Leason and other driver George Rodriguez say sky-high diesel prices have them stuck between a rock and a hard place... Rodriguez is staying in for now, but isn't optimistic, either... The two drivers said their goodbyes, and Ed Leason prepared for the long ride home...* Know when to fold 'em: Fed up with diesel costs, some truckers are cutting back
Paducah,KY,USA -TMCnet/The Paducah Sun -May 04, 2008: -- Tim Swinford has parked three-fourths of his truck fleet and laid off 20 of his 35 employees, hoping soaring diesel fuel prices will finally run their course... Normally the firm runs 30 trucks, but the Swinfords idled most of their rigs by cutting out the costliest routes, notably to the east and west coasts. "I don't think my grandfather or my father ever did anything like this," said the third-generation co-owner of Swinford Trucking at 845 Bleich Road... On an average day, owner-operator Mark Berton of Princeton spends $450 to $500 a day fueling his Peterbilt truck, which gets 5.5 miles per gallon. Fuel costs have cut about $100 daily out of his profits since this time last year... Larger firms are better able to absorb rising fuel costs but are still feeling the pinch. Celadon Group of Indianapolis recently reported a third-quarter profit drop of 96 percent because of rising diesel fuel prices... Paschall Truck Line of Murray, which runs 1,200 rigs nationwide, is negotiating surcharges and considering battery-powered sleeping quarters to keep drivers from having to idle engines at a fuel cost of about $32 nightly, Maintenance Vice President David Graham said...
Labels: fuel cost troubles
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