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HIGHER FUEL COSTS * USA - Keep on truckin'? Long haulers yield to diesel prices
Their massive vehicles' low mpg weighs down the bottom line, spurring cultural and technological shifts
Los Angeles,CAL,USA -Los Angeles Times, by Ken Bensinger -May 17, 2008: -- ... Because of short supply (P.N.: See entry 17 May, below), the price of diesel has gone up more than twice as much as gasoline in the last year, reaching a U.S. all-time high this week of an average of $4.33 a gallon. With little hope of a near-term decline -- oil futures rose $2.17 to settle at a record $126.29 a barrel Friday -- the run-up is causing panic and prompting radical cultural and technological shifts in the struggling trucking industry... Instead of obsessing over chrome trim or the latest cab amenities to ease life on the road, truck owners and operators who are fed up with getting 5 miles per gallon are delving into long-ignored subjects such as aerodynamics, cruising speeds and tire efficiency... Engineers and manufacturers are furiously developing fuel-friendly technology. And commercial fleets are using high-tech software to calculate every aspect of their drivers' routes, down to where they should fill up and where they should stop for the night... But with U.S. trucks burning upward of 20 billion gallons of diesel a year and trucking industry bankruptcies soaring, shifting to more efficient vehicles can be a matter of business survival... (Photo: Driver Bill Rethwisch, 34, with his rig at a truck stop in Ontario. Rethwisch, who operates out of Tomah, Wis., bought his 2008 Kenworth T660 semi-tractor because it has such aerodynamics features as a slopped hood and no exhaust stacks. The reduced drag helps to make the rig more fuel-efficient)* High diesel prices push truckers off the road
Rocky Mount,NC,USA -The Rocky Mount Telegram, by Eric Klamut -May 18, 2008: -- You can hear the frustration in Charlene Garris' voice... A native of Fayetteville who has been driving big rigs on and off for 20 years, Garris doesn't know what the future holds for her and John Mzyick – her boyfriend, who is also a truck driver... But for now, Garris has other things on her mind. Namely the skyrocketing price of diesel fuel. She and Mzyick, of Andrews, S.C., work as a team... With the price of diesel fuel rising to more than $4 per gallon, trucking firms and drivers are feeling the brunt of the fuel spike full force... "It shouldn't have to be like this," Garris said. "We just try to make it the best we can and go on."... Hauling freight for Southern Refrigerated Transport, a Texas and Illinois motor transport company, Mzyick, who has been driving commercial rigs for 11 years said that nowadays, it takes anywhere from $600 to $700 to fill both of his fuel tanks. He estimated he pumps about $3,000 into the rig on a weekly basis... "Look at your grocery prices," Garris said. "Everything's blown out of proportion. ... It's going to get so bad that (trucking) companies are going to go out of business."... And that has been the case for many trucking firms...
* High fuel costs forcing truckers out of business
Dayton,OH,USA -The Dayton Daily News, by Kristin McAllister -May 18, 2008: -- ... For Jet Express Inc., driver and Kettering resident, Clay Elam, 56, who owns his own semi, each day starts with the question: Is today the day I bail out? ... "I'm somewhat optimistic, " Elam said. "It just seems very difficult, though, to hold on to optimism, but you hang on to hope. It's a starving industry."... Elam said the rising fuel costs are taking away two thirds of everything he makes... "In the good old days, you'd get back half of what you've spent, but each day that passes, it gets more and more expensive," he said. "You know, I bought my truck for $120,000 and pay about $75,000 each year in maintenance and fuel."... Elam said he and his family have had to make several changes in family spending because of the impact of high fuel costs... "Fuel costs are killing us. We're all in struggling mode, and only the strong will survive," he said. "It comes down to, what comes first? Maintaining your truck, versus losing your house."...Labels: fuel costs solution
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