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HIGH FUEL COSTS * USA - Take Toll On Trucking Industry
It used to be that labor was the largest cost for his company. Today, the largest cost is fuel...
Chattanooga,TN,USA -The Chattanoogan, by Judy Frank -May 29, 2008: -- ... U.S. Xpress Co-Chairman Patrick E. Quinn told Chattanooga Rotary Club members Thursday... The increased costs present cash-flow problems for many trucking companies because fuel bills often have to be paid daily – while companies must wait 30 days before they are reimbursed for the freight they used that fuel to haul... Consequently, many small trucking firms are being forced out of business, Mr. Quinn said... As the third largest privately owned truckload carrier in the nation, U.S. Xpress spends $12 to $13 million per week for diesel fuel, he said... Costs are escalating sharply, he noted... Skyrocketing fuel prices are not the only problem facing the industry. For example, one constant challenge is finding enough drivers... Another problem that faces the trucking industry – and the nation as a whole – is the deteriorating transportation infrastructure... Today, there are about 300 million people in the United States, he said. Fifty years from now, studies indicate, there will be 420 million... The larger population will significantly impact everything from traffic congestion to stresses on infrastructure, he said... Just to keep up, the nation needs to spend at least $225 billion annually for the next 50 years, he said. Currently, it is not doing that... "One price the nation pays for failing to maintain and/or improve its infrastructure is increasing traffic congestion, he said. If our commute this year takes five minutes longer than it did last year, we don’t see that as a major problem,” Mr. Quinn said. “But if the commute takes five minutes longer every year, then in a dozen years that’s an extra hour on the road..."
Labels: fuel cost troubles
posted by Unknown @ 5:27 PM
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