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FUEL COST RESULTS * USA - Experts: Abandon hopes of cheaper fuel
Get used to it: Fuel prices won't drop
Saginaw,Mich,USA -The Saginaw News, by Paul Wyche & LaNIa Coleman -May 04, 2008: -- Central Michigan University economist Philip Thompson said supply and demand in the oil market, along with the tanking U.S. dollar, will make lower gasoline prices unlikely... Colleagues agree... "If we have to devote more of our (income) to paying for energy, then that's just the reality," said William P. Welch, associate professor of economics at Saginaw Valley State University. "Maybe our rate of growth will be less than it would have been (if gasoline prices hadn't spiked), but that doesn't mean our living standards won't increase. It's just that it's a major part of our lives from here on out, and we have to adjust. Some people blame the oil companies for manipulating the market. But you also have to look at the fact that other consumers around the world are industrializing, the rest of the world is waking up, and those economies are needing oil. The demand has increased, and from the supply side, we've been lagging behind in our oil production capabilities."... 
The problem with gasoline prices is that they stayed steady for decades and only recently spiked, observers say... "On the demand side are the continuing growth of the Chinese and Indian economies and the annual increase in demand as the summer driving season gets under way in the U.S.," CMU's Thompson said. "On the supply side, we see that OPEC is producing almost at its capacity, oil production in Russia is flat or declining and there is continuing uncertainty over supplies from many sources because of political factors."... With decades of low to moderate fuel cost increases, perhaps the recent hikes are simply a matter of prices "catching up," Welch said... "We had it good for awhile, but now reality is catching up to us." ... (Photo by Melanie Sochan/The Saginaw News - William VandenBeurgeury, 45, of Gladwin, a foreman with Asplundh Tree Expert Company in Mount Pleasant, puts half a tank of unleaded gas in his company truck at a cost of 104 dollars for 27.667 gallons) * Truckers need help ‘soon’ OOIDA tells Congress
Washington,DC,USA -Land Line Magazine, by Jami Jones -May 6, 2008: -- If there were any members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee who didn’t think fuel prices were strangling small-business truckers – they probably don’t have the same opinion following a hearing on the topic today... Todd Spencer, executive vice president of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, told committee members in his testimony during the hearing that small-business truckers are victimized not only by high fuel costs, but also by questionable business tactics in the industry... “The rising cost of fuel is causing harm to the trucking industry as we know it. Across this nation, small-business truckers are experiencing unprecedented operating cost increases and are being forced to make tough decisions in the name of saving their businesses and providing for their families,” Spencer told members of the committee... In the end, Spencer called for quality regulations and oversight of the industry to give truckers some relief... “If we do not find ways to help them soon, small-business truckers will continue to lose their businesses or refuse to drive unprofitably. I have no doubt that we will see greater disruptions in the movement of our nation’s commerce and our economy,” he said...
Labels: fuel cost troubles
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