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Truckers' Bankruptcy * USA - High Fuel Costs Threaten for
Without Trucks, America Stops
* At $1,000 a fill-up, independent drivers suffer, and costs to consumers rise
Washington,DC,USA -U.S. News' World Report, by Marianne Lavelle -May 2, 2008: -- A couple hundred truckers, after driving their rigs in a horn-honking circuit around Washington, D.C., last week marched on the Capitol with pleas for Congress to halt oil commodity speculators, open more U.S. fields for petroleum drilling, and even cap the price of fuel. A deluge of rain had drenched their rally on the lawn, but the reality inside the domed building, it turns out, was far more dampening to their cause... It appeared there was little that lawmakers or the Bush administration could do to quell the stampeding global oil market. But the run-up is particularly severe, and the situation grave, for the industry that delivers consumers their food, clothing, and other goods... Big companies face falling profits. Small and independent truckers, some 20 percent of the industry, face devastation. Trucking firm failures jumped to "catastrophic levels" in the first quarter of the year, reports industry analyst Donald Broughton. He estimates that 42,000 trucks, or 2.1 percent of the nation's capacity, were idled in the first quarter—with nearly 1,000 companies going bankrupt... In all, it is the worst crisis in the industry since the 2001 recession, but with an ominous twist. Thanks to the falling U.S. dollar, Russia and eastern Europe are eager to buy those idled trucks—eliminating the rigs from the U.S. marketplace for good. That may seem to matter little in the slowing U.S. economy, where there still are too many trucks chasing too few loads. But when U.S. demand picks up, there will be fewer trucks—and higher shipping prices... (Photo by Charlie Archambault for USN's & WR - Truckers parade in Washington, D.C., to protest high fuel prices) - Video: Truckers Protests High Gas Prices
* Fuel prices slow down truckers - Producers, processors and shippers feel the pinch as prices rise
Salem,OR,USA -Capital Press, by Bob Krauter -2 May 2008: -- Crude oil prices crept into record territory earlier this week, a harbinger of potentially hard times on the road ahead for farmers, truckers and others who burn diesel to serve the nation's agricultural industry... President Bush renewed his call this week for Congress to permit drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, a proposal he has made repeatedly since he first took office in 2001, and to pave the way for the building of new refineries... The president revived an earlier proposal that shuttered military bases be used as sites for new refineries. In the past, oil and energy experts have expressed little interest in that, saying military bases often aren't situated where the oil pipelines are anyhow... California Trucking Association's Julie Sauls said truckers are doing everything they can to avoid more pain at the pump. They are reducing speeds, watching tire pressure and taking other steps to increase fuel efficiency, but some truck owners have already become victims of higher fuel prices... The nation's trucking industry spent more than $112 billion for fuel in 2007, up from $106 billion the year before, based on information supplied by the California Trucking Association. It is estimated that commercial truck fuel bills could rise to $135 billion this year... (Photo: Jason Cushman, a driver for A.I.C. Inc. of Lake Oswego, Ore., gets ready to pump diesel fuel into the tank of his Peterbilt at a truck stop in Sacramento this week. Cushman, who purchased $500 in fuel, less than 100 gallons, was on a trip to deliver goods to Costco in Reno)* Customers, firms share pain as gas costs rise - To offset high pump prices, fuel-dependent businesses change habits, shift expense to clients
Detroit,Mich,USA -The Detroit News, by Jennifer Youssef -May 3, 2008: -- With record-high fuel prices eating away profits, fuel-dependent businesses such as movers, truckers and delivery drivers are shifting into survival mode -- looking for ways to cut other expenses and, in some cases, passing the extra gas costs on to consumers and crossing their fingers that they don't lose their business... At the Village Florist of Romeo, owner Roz Mischley raised her delivery fees 50 cents and is planning more efficient delivery routes so drivers use less gas. Shamrock Cab Co. in Roseville is charging an extra 30 cents per mile and added a $1 gas surcharge to the starting fee. And longtime trucker Leo Wilkins is looking at options to keep more money for each load he hauls since he's expecting to pay $45,000 more for diesel this year... "It's killing us. It's killing the trucking industry," said Wilkins, 62, of St. Charles , who delivers cars, large machinery and "anything that goes on a flatbed" to 48 states. He drives 120,000 miles a year and gets five miles to the gallon... "We can't work for nothing," he said... (Photo by Tom Fitzgerald / The Detroit News - The last time St. Charles trucker Leo Wilkins filled his 300-gallon tank, it cost more than $1,000. "It's killing the trucking industry")* The Cost of Living - Diesel prices could force truckers off roads
Lock Haven,PA,USA -The Lock Haven Express, by LINDSAY DAVIS –1 May 2008: -- Never has that slogan rang truer than today, when the United States’ economy is on a major downslide, largely due to rising fuel costs, and the trucking industry is threatening to shut down... Even trucking companies are feeling the burn... * FULL TANKS, EMPTY POCKETS: Fuel costs have been a factor in every trucking company’s budget since the industry got its start... Today’s numbers are changing so quickly, though, and only in one direction, that truckers everywhere are forced to reconsider those budgets on a weekly, if not daily, basis... Exponentially climbing fuel prices are slicing into the budgets and profit margins of trucking companies of all sizes, from single owner-operators to large fleets. Many are astounded at some of the recent increases...
* ULTRA LOW SULFUR DIESEL: To add insult to injury, the country’s fuel stations are in the midst of switching from traditional and low sulfur diesel fuel to ultra low sulfur diesel, a blend environmentalists feel is significantly more Earth-friendly. Truckers have found it’s not very checkbook-friendly, though... The price of ULSD has drastically increased since it was introduced in 2006. According to EIA statistics, the average price for ULSD in 2007 was $3.003 per gallon; the average price for the week of April 20-26, 2008, was $4.381...
* FUEL SURCHARGES: Truckers often try to recoup some of the money they are literally burning up in fuel by charging a fuel surcharge to the businesses to which they deliver. Most of the time, though, those surcharges don’t come anywhere near covering 100 percent of fuel costs... Bierly estimated his fuel surcharges only cover about 30 to 50 percent of his fuel costs...
* A BUSINESS SLOWING DOWN: Truck traffic on the major highways is noticeably decreasing, according to many drivers. Some say they don’t see many other options to save money... Some are getting creative, trying to find solutions that will cut costs while still making money. Singh has tried to get better mileage out of his trucks by taking less freight on each load. The downside, he discovered, is then he has to pay his drivers more for longer hours or extra loads... Meanwhile, casual observations indicate that few people are venturing into the business and many are trying to get out. The future of freight transportation hangs in the balance...
* TO STRIKE OR NOT TO STRIKE: Some truckers make the decision themselves to pull their trucks off the road...to prove a point. They are using strikes and rallies to send a message to the government: We need your help to lower, or at least control, fuel prices... Many don’t see striking as a viable solution, though... “That isn’t how we’re going to solve our problems, by picking a day for everybody to park their trucks. We’d all have to do it every day,” Lindsey said... And, as Confer said, “That would cripple the country in about a week.”... There is one point every driver seems to agree on, though... “Something’s got to give. Something’s got to change,” said Jesse Kilgore...
But yet we're fighting
* Truckers continue grassroots campaign to motivate New York lawmakers
New York,NY,USA -Land Line Magazine, by Clarissa Kell-Holland -May 2, 2008: -- Across the country, truckers have started grass-roots movements in several states to wake up their lawmakers to the harsh realities many drivers are facing – losing their livelihoods as high fuel prices and a rocky economy continue to beat up the industry... In New York, owner-operators, company drivers and trucking company owners are all banding together and pounding the phones to get the message out to their lawmakers that they are running out of time... On Wednesday, April 30, OOIDA member Paul Looman of Gloversville, NY, addressed the New York State Assembly about how high fuel prices and high tolls on the New York Thruway are depleting his and other truckers’ resources... Looman said speaking before the Assembly was a little “overwhelming,” but worth every minute if something good comes from it... “They must have like what I had to say because they applauded when I was done,” he said...
* New York bills would end ton-mile tax, reduce fuel tax in certain areas
New York,NY,USA -Land Line Magazine, by Keith Goble -May 2, 2008: -- Two bills in the New York Assembly would eliminate collection of a tax applied to truck drivers and reduce the state’s fuel tax in certain areas... Assemblyman William Magnarelli, D-Syracuse, introduced one measure that would rid the state of administering the truck mileage tax – also known as the ton-mile tax... Supporters of the bill point out that New York is the only state in the region to administer the tax. They say it is a barrier to competition with neighboring states... Another bill in the Ways and Means Committee would eliminate the motor fuel excise tax and petroleum business tax near Indian reservations. Sponsored by Assemblyman David Townsend Jr., R-Sylvan Beach, the measure would reduce the taxes on motor fuels by 20 cents per gallon in areas within a 20-mile radius of Indian reservations...
Labels: fuel cost troubles
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