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Aug 12, 2008

FUEL COST TROUBLES * USA - Stubborn diesel prices challenge truckers

In June, Alvan Motor Freight filed for bankruptcy. The Kalamazoo-based trucking company operated a terminal in Kentwood, and was one of the nation's largest, and last, family-owned trucking firms

Byron Township,MI,USA -WZZM, by Peter Ross -12 Aug 2008: -- Eric Johnson's tractor-trailer was quieter than most parked at the truckstop here Monday. He installed an auxilary power unit, so his tractor wasn't idling, wasting expensive diesel fuel. The APU keeps his tractor cool in the summer, and warm in winter... He's also installed wider tires that replace two tires, and installed a new exhaust system, all in efforts to save fuel... The Onekema man has been an independent owner-operator for the past four years and prefers it over driving for a large trucking company... Small- to medium-sized trucking companies have become growing casualties as fuel prices have risen and the economy sagged. A recent study estimated about 1000 of these firms failed nationwide in the first quarter alone (P's N: See below post)... Industry analysts say independent truckers are necessary to provide pricing competition to the larger trucking companies. Some fear that while trucking failures might be invisible now to consumers, when the economy improves, it would push up shipping rates, further increasing prices on consumer goods...

Labels: fuel cost troubles

Jun 30, 2008

FUEL COST TROUBLES * USA - Fuel or Sex ... !!! ???

* A choice that no one should have to make

Reno,Nev,USA -AOL NEWS/Pafoa.org -June 29, 2008: -- Rising fuel prices are putting a pinch on the world's oldest profession... Nevada brothels that cater to long-haul truckers are offering gas cards and other promotions after seeing business decline as much as 25 percent from a year ago, industry officials said... Geoffrey Arnold, president of the Nevada Brothel Owners' Association, said truckers account for up to 75 percent of business at the state's rural brothels along Interstate 80 and U.S. Highway 95...

* Diesel costs driving many independent truckers out of business

Salt Lake City -Deseret News, by Laura Hancock -29 June 2008: -- Julia and Lari Tadehara of Murray sank their life savings into their car-hauling business. They were losing $5,000 a month in recent months and finally parked the truck just weeks ago. Their 10-vehicle car-hauler is in a repair shop for maintenance before the Tadeharas sell it to recover some money... Business became difficult for them beginning this past December, when the price of diesel fuel began to spike... (Photo 1· By Keith Johnson, Deseret News - Mike Osthoff, with Dealers Auto Transport, gets ready Tuesday for a trip delivering cars. High fuel prices have made an impact on his income, Osthoff says) ... A year ago, the national average price for a gallon of diesel fuel was $3 per gallon. Diesel is now about $4.78 a gallon, and in some states, it's past $5 a gallon. The result is that at least 935 truckers nationwide have gone out of business in the first part of this year, according to a recent study, and the numbers could rise... Independent drivers and small companies cannot easily absorb the rising cost of fuel, because they can't buy fuel in bulk at wholesale rates or afford trucks with better technology to control speed and other functions, like the large companies do... The small companies also tend to log more "empty miles" — miles driven without paid freight. The truckers that remain in the industry are having to make adjustments to survive...

* Passing along costs

Salt Lake City -Deseret News, by Laura Hancock -29 June 2008: --

(Photo 2· By Jason Olson/Deseret News - Tara Dobson hooks up for another run. The Dobsons have changed their driving habits to save on fuel — removing the bug shield to improve aerodynamics and cutting back on breaks to save fuel wasted on slowing down and speeding up) ... Chris and Tara Dobson of North Salt Lake always drive as a team, with one driving while the other sleeps. Trucking is a second career for Chris Dobson, who has a psychology degree from the University of Texas at Austin and worked for almost a decade in sales and marketing. He and his wife chose trucking because she was looking for a new job, but the couple only had one car between the two of them... The couple researched the industry and got their commercial drivers' licenses in 2003. They drove for a trucking company before starting Dobson Transport in August 2006...

(Photo by Jason Olson, Deseret News - Truck-refrigeration units, like this one owned by Chris and Tara Dobson, take diesel fuel only. The price of diesel is now hovering near $5 a gallon) ... They have documented their costs for diesel fuel: They paid $32,310 from January through May of 2007 and $54,175 in that same period this year... But the couple has made more money from invoices this year: $139,337, up from last year's invoices of $111,873. They're not driving any more freight than last year. They've simply increased their shipping rates... They pocket the profits on their weekly trip to Raleigh, N.C., delivering Idaho potatoes to a grocery wholesale company because they negotiated the contract directly with the shipper. When fuel goes up 20-50 cents, they ask for more money, and the wholesaler complies, Chris Dobson said... On the way back West, the Dobsons transport mattress ticking fabric from Statesville, N.C. That contract is negotiated through a booking company, but the Dobsons get most of the profit and all of the fuel surcharge... The Dobsons, meanwhile, have changed their driving habits to save on fuel — removing the bug shield to improve aerodynamics, and reducing the number of breaks at trucking and rest stops to save fuel that's wasted on slowing down and speeding up... That adds about five hours to their weekly driving time. Last year, they'd arrive in North Salt Lake on Saturday morning. Now it's Saturday afternoon. The net result is a half day cut from their weekends. Their work week starts on Tuesday mornings ... But the couple hopes to eventually expand their business by buying two to three more trucks and hiring drivers..."The more and more companies that go out of business, when things turn around, I'll buy their trucks and their routes," he said... (Photo 4 · By Jason Olson/Deseret News - Chris Dobson heads down a Salt Lake road on June 22. Dobson and his wife, Tara, started Dobson Transport in August 2006. The couple always drive as a team, with one driving while the other sleeps)

Labels: fuel cost troubles

Jun 25, 2008

FUEL COST TROUBLES * USA - Higher diesel shrinks pay

Independent long-haul truckers fear for their livelihoods as their rigs' fuel tanks burn up most of what they earn

Portland,OR,USA -The Associated Press/The Oregonian/OregonLive.com, by Amy Hsuan -June 24, 2008: -- ... Four years ago, Guy Belland could make a decent living as an independent truck driver shuttling motor oil across the country for ConocoPhillips. Back then, diesel was $2.50 a gallon and Belland signed a five-year contract with a trucking firm that would earn him $50,000 to $75,000 a year... But with diesel prices climbing to now almost $5 a gallon, truckers like Belland are increasingly being squeezed out of a livelihood. Belland, based in California, has frequent routes through Oregon, which he calls home when his cab is parked here... Almost every dollar Belland earns goes toward filling his 1998 Freightliner, which used to represent freedom to the 50-year old rather than financial strain... "I'm barely living," says Belland, who started driving trucks 30 years ago and earned $25,000 last year. "It's bad. It's scary."... Belland, who used to drive 3,000 miles a week, is now lucky if he logs 1,500 miles... Like hundreds of thousands of independent truck drivers across the country, Belland's options are running out. "People don't realize that everything you eat, drink or touch at one point was on a truck," Belland says. "There's no other thing for me."...

Labels: fuel cost troubles

Jun 24, 2008

Lowers Forecast * USA - UPS slashes view on soaring fuel costs

United Parcel Service Inc. warned on Monday that second-quarter earnings would be below expectations, blaming high fuel prices and a sluggish U.S. economy

Chicago,ILL,USA -Reuters, by James Kelleher; Nichola Groom; & Steve Orlofsky -June 23 2008: -- ... UPS estimated earnings of 83 cents to 88 cents a share for the quarter, down from a prior view of 97 cents to $1.04 per share... In a statement, UPS said U.S. package volume had been lower than expected, while demand for higher-priced air delivery services had seen a particular drop... It isn't just the package delivery companies that warned that results will be hurt by rising energy and other commodity prices... But given the out-sized role that fuel plays in haulers' expenses, freight and package haulers are especially feeling the pinch... Adding pressure is the slowdown in the U.S. economy, which has depressed business activity and left too many truckers chasing too little freight... That's forced many independent truckers -- and some bigger outfits -- to file for bankruptcy protection...

Labels: fuel cost troubles

FUEL COST TROUBLES * Canada & USA - TRUCKERS' STORIES

* Canada - Trucking companies struggle with fuel costs

Prince Albert,Canada -The Principe Albert Daily Herald, by MOHSIN ABBAS -22 June 2008: -- ... Dozens of trucking companies risk closing if the federal government doesn't create a rebate program to mitigate the soaring price of fuel, the Canadian Teamsters union warned last week... It called on the government to use budget surpluses to assist the transport industry... The practice already exists provincially, the Teamsters said. For example, Quebec gives independent drivers protection against rising gas and fuel costs, it said... According to transportation experts across the country, the price of fuel imposes a perilous cost on trucking companies, brokers and owner-operators... Said Diane Lavoie, the owner of Knight Courier in Prince Albert, "So it would not be long to see the trucking companies closing down over growing fuel prices."... (Photo by Mohsin Abbas - Prince Albert truck driver Mike Podborochynski can remember buying fuel for 25 cents a gallon)

* USA - Diesel prices driving independent truckers broke

Seattle,WASH,USA -AP/Seattle Post Intelligencer, by DAN CATCHPOLE -June 23, 2008: -- Independent trucker Fletcher Mack owns a white Freightliner with his name stenciled in green on the door. These days he's reaching deeper into his pocket for fuel. With the price of diesel rising fast and more drivers chasing less freight, he sees a bleak financial future for himself and thousands like him across the country... His income is slightly below the national average income of $41,000 for an owner-operator, according to the Owner-Operator Independent Driver Association... Around nine percent of the nation's 3.4 million truck drivers are independent owner-operators, according to the Department of Labor... Adding to the problem is a surplus of drivers and trucks. Since Mack got into trucking in 2001, the number of people with commercial drivers licenses in Washington has increased from about 170,000 to more than 203,000... Like many independent drivers, Mack has been cutting costs. The truck's oil gets changed every 15,000 miles instead of every 10,000, and he and his girlfriend have trimmed their household expenses... Larger companies can park older - and less safe - trucks, but smaller companies and independent drivers have to drive regardless, Erik Backman, owner of Freight Expeditors, Inc., said... Mack said, "How long is it going to be until I'm broke? I know that it's basically inevitable." ... But for now, he's unwilling to give up the life... (Photo by JOHN TULLY/The Washington Times - Truckers line the umps at the Flying J off US-81 north of Winchester, Va., late one evening)

* USA - Independent truckers fume as costs rise: Diesel prices. Toll roads. Maintenance fees. Insurance payments. Dispatcher charges.

Washington,DC,USA -The Washington Times, by W.J. Hennigan -June 23, 2008: -- Sitting behind the wheel of his big rig, Sean Russell looks calm, cool and collected. But inside, he's tied in knots. He knows that in the past year, hundreds of small- to mid-sized trucking outfits have folded under the pressure of these costs. He doesn't want to be next... "If you don't make the stop, you fall behind," Mr. Russell said. "And if you fall behind, you don't get paid on time. And without money, there's no gas to keep this thing going."... As owner and operator of God Works trucking, Mr. Russell has crisscrossed the country in his 18-wheeler with his girlfriend, Mary Carter, and her two children, Justin, 8, and Heather, 14, who just got out of school for summer break. He not only enjoys their company, Ms. Carter also holds a commercial driver's license, meaning fewer stops and more loads... Mr. Russell knows their pain. He and other haulers aren't paid back for the fuel they use until weeks after they've completed their runs. So, Mr. Russell could be driving for weeks before the broker who tells him where to go pays him. Even when he does get paid, he doesn't know what kind of surcharges will be taken out of his check. The instability puts him on edge. It adds up after a while, he says... According to Sean Russell, owner and operator of God Works trucking, he has not been to his Past Christian, Miss., home in seven months... All his waking hours are spent driving and his breaks are spent sleeping while his girlfriend drives, until the next shift... In Braintree, Mass., Russell talks with his dispatcher on the phone, finding out he will be heading to New Hampshire to Pennsylvania and later onto Chicago... The problem for Mr. Russell - other than the monumental dieselprices - is the unforeseeables, he says. Like when he took his rig to a mechanic for a regular oil change a few weeks ago. Other than the $300 price tag, the oil change seemed innocent enough. But the mechanic failed to put the dipstick back properly... Oblivious to the mechanic's mistake, Mr. Russell drove from southern to northern Pennsylvania and burned through four gallons of oil. When Mr. Russell found out what was wrong, he pulled over and filled the oil tank up, but it cost him...

The delay pushed him back a few hours. And the lost hours caused Mr. Russell to be late to unload aluminum coils at Basic Metals Inc. in Germantown, Wis... The metal company had already closed up for the weekend. So, Mr. Russell and the family decided to make the most of it and visited nearby Chicago until the business opened on Monday morning... A simple mistake knocked the truck off schedule three days, he says. Now he's scampering to make up lost time and get back on track... Lately, another unforeseen delay - bad weather - has been hampering business. Mass flooding, heavy rains and winds that "could blow you straight off the road" are dangerous, Mr. Russell says... But so is waiting it out... If the storm is bad enough, it could mean losing a day or two. Going around it would cost too much in fuel. So pressing on is often the best option. "You never now how bad it's going to be until you're in it," Mr. Russell says. "Then you make a decision."... However, he's lucky enough, he says, because he travels with his family and takes turns driving with Ms. Carter. Yet they rarely stop - except to unload... "It gets tiring because we're driving straight through," Mr. Russell says, "but, financially, it's the only way we're going to make it - if we make it at all."..(Photos by John Tully/ The Washington Times - 1 · · Mr. Russell knows their pain - 2 · Mary Carter, center, walks with her children Heather, 14, and son Justin, 8, back to board the truck after a break before heading back on the road to Pennsylvania from New Hampshire. Carter and Russell will be traveling with Carter's children for a month this summer. "It's affecting money we could send home to help the kids. To put food in their stomachs and clothes on them. To give them a life," Russell said about the rising cost of diesel and having to juggle their daily expenses - 3 · Mary Carter helps Sean Russell eat lunch while on the road in Massachusetts. "I don't see how solos are making it. Solo drivers. I don't see how they're doing it. We're barely making it and we're teaming," said Mary Carter)

Labels: fuel cost troubles

Jun 21, 2008

FUEL COSTS TROUBLES * Canada & USA - No more drivers' shortage ???

* Canada - Truckers see their profits dwindle

London,ONT,CAN -The London Free Press, by PAIGE AARHUS -June 21, 2008: -- Bill Williams used to love his job. He started trucking in 1981 and bought his own big rig in 2002. But these days, with the price of diesel hovering around $1.40 a litre, he's looking for a new career... Williams operates out of Woodstock, driving 14 hours a day, six days a week between Ontario and the USA. Like many other independent truckers, he's facing sky-rocketing fuel prices, dwindling profits and little hope for the future. Some truckers have already given up. Their rigs are showing up in auction yards... A trucker with a new rig can face monthly payments of up to $3,000, said Williams, who was lucky enough to pay off his $70,000 used rig a few years ago. It costs up to $1,100 to fill the tanks -- a few months ago a rig could be filled up for $500 to $700 -- and each fill takes a driver about 1,900 kilometres -- meaning a long haul to Kentucky would drain a full truck. Add insurance, maintenance, tolls and the cost of living on the road, and it's nearly impossible to make a living, Williams said... Teamsters Canada representative Bud McCauley said many independent truckers are parking their rigs because the cost of doing business is just too much... McCauley said, the problem lies with fuel caps imposed by companies on independents. For example, owner- operators might pay 47 cents a litre of their own fuel costs, and the company they drive for covers the rest... But companies feeling the effects of high fuel costs are pushing to increase the cap to 60 cents a litre, McCauley said... "That extra 13 cents a litre could cost an owner-operator $11,000 a year out of their own pocket," he said. For Williams, even a 60-cent fuel cap would be a relief. He pays the full cost of filling up, and receives 18 cents a litre in rebates from his company... "They've tightened the line so tight I'm not making any money. I cannot justify staying in this business anymore," he said... One local auto auction is feeling the effects. At London's Gardner Auctions, vice-president Kingsley Gardner said he's noticed more big rigs popping up on the auction block...

* USA - Driver Shortage? Not So Much Any More

USA -Life on the Road, by Wayne Weisser -Jun 20, 2008: -- It amazes and disgusts me at the same time to see how disconnected and stupid the government really is... Trucking in general is in tough times, everyone agrees on that. Companies and owners are going under on a daily basis. The drivers that were employed by those companies and small fleets are now unemployed and are looking to drive for someone else... (Pls search on above "Trucking bankruptcies ease shortage of drivers")... Sad, but no surprise to most of us. It goes on saying the same thing and some numbers thrown in. Like the 935 companies that filed for bankruptcy this year and 2% of the nations long haul fleet was idle during the first quarter... And from the blockheads in the government: (Pls. search) "FMCSA awards $1 million in grants to 9 driver training programs"... Driver shortage isn’t mentioned in the article, but why are schools training drivers when there are plenty of experienced drivers looking for work. Rookies get paid less than experienced drivers? I’m sure that has nothing to do with it... How about sending that $1 million to drivers that are already working and trying to survive? I’d put grant money to good use. How about tax breaks? I’m not looking for a handout, but I don’t think my tax money should be spent on new drivers that may take jobs from experienced drivers that need the jobs...

Labels: fuel cost troubles

Jun 16, 2008

FUEL COST TROUBLES * USA - Petrol prices pinching post office

Every time the price of gasoline goes up a penny it costs the Postal Service $8 million

Washington,DC,USA -AP, by RANDOLPH E. SCHMID –14 June 2008: -- ... "We are definitely feeling the pressure," Deputy Postmaster General Patrick R. Donahoe told... Transportation cost the post office $6.5 billion in 2007, $500 million more than the year before... The post office operates the largest civilian fleet of vehicles in the country — 215,000 motor vehicles — and also faces rising costs for fuel from its contract carriers including truckers and airlines... It's both a matter or costs and usage, Donahoe explained — looking for ways to reduce costs and change use patterns to reduce the need for fuel... It's easier for the post office to raise rates than it used to be — the price of sending a letter went up a penny to 42 cents in May. Another price rise is expected next May, but postage increases are legally limited to the rate of inflation... That limit doesn't seem to apply to fuel costs which now top $4-a-gallon nationwide...

Labels: fuel cost troubles

Jun 10, 2008

FUEL COST TROUBLES * USA - Trapped by more than traffic

Skyrocketing cost of diesel fuel puts strain on industry, owner-operators

Sugar Grove,OH,USA -The Lancaster Eagle Gazette (Lancaster,OH,USA), by BRIAN SLODYSKO -9 June 2008: -- Pumping gas is painful for Mark Powers. And he doesn't expect the pain to lessen any time soon... Powers is co-owner of Powers Trucking in Sugar Grove... And the surging price of diesel - a nearly 60-percent increase in the past year or so - has resulted in a drop in business. He expects a one-quarter drop in business this year because the company had to increase its rates to offset the cost of fueling the 30 trucks in the fleet... His fuel bill likely will double this year... Powers said some of the smaller owner-operators might delay safety maintenance if they are having trouble making ends meet. But he said that was not a consideration for his company... "Myself, I would probably quit before it ever got that bad, but there are guys out there who have no choice," he said... (E-G photo by Jessica M. Crossfield - Truckers pump fuel on U.S. 33 in Lancaster on Friday. Because the cost of gas has increased during the past few years, the price of diesel fuel has skyrocketed)

Labels: fuel cost troubles

Jun 1, 2008

FUEL COST TROUBLES * Australia - Truckers warn of transport crisis as diesel price soars

The skyrocketing cost of diesel has put the trucking industry in crisis and the only short-term solution is to increase freight costs by up to 10 per cent

Canberra,Australian Capital Territory,Australia -The Canberra Times, by DAVID CURRY -29 May 2008: -- ... Speaking at the National Trucking Convention at the Canberra Convention Centre yesterday, the Australian Trucking Association chairman Trevor Martyn said small trucking companies and owner drivers could no longer absorb the cost of diesel... In a separate statement he said if the industry's customers did not accept the need to pay freight costs that reflected the price of fuel, many trucking companies would go to the wall and there would be no way to move goods quickly... A Queensland owner-driver attending the convention, Frank Black, said smaller operators, as sub-contractors, were often not in a position to negotiate higher freight costs with the prime contractor... He said many owner drivers he knew were leaving the industry because they could no longer make a living. Those still driving were tempted to breach the safety laws and guidelines to break even... ''You've got to minimal sustainable rates to make the industry safe. All the rules and laws are going to count for nothing unless they fix the viability of [the industry].''... Federal Minister for Transport Anthony Albanese made no mention of the price of diesel or driver shortages when he addressed the convention yesterday... He talked instead about the Rudd Government's planned expenditure on infrastructure, drawn from the $20 billion ''building Australia'' fund announced in the budget...

Labels: fuel cost troubles

May 31, 2008

HIGHER FUEL COSTS * USA - Fill it up, lose your shirt

Everyone is feeling the pain at the gas pump. But diesel prices are even higher, over $5 per gallon locally

Hillsdale,NY,USA -The Columbia Independent Online (Columbia,NY), by RICHARD ROTH -29 May 2008: -- ... That represents a $2 per-gallon increase in just one year... At those prices the owner-operator of a diesel truck, whose rig is likely to get four to five miles per gallon on average, is spending more than a dollar a mile just on fuel. Other petroleum costs have also gone up. An oil change is necessary every 10,000 miles--once a month for a long-haul trucker--and the eleven gallons of oil lubricating the crankcase of a large engine cost another $200... Some drivers are giving up and selling their trucks to meet the high demand for used vehicles in Russia, according to a Vermont driver who delivered wood chips to a Hillsdale garden supply store this week. Fuel costs are one problem, he said, but the general slowdown in the economy is also taking its toll... There are also concerns about fuel oil costs for the coming season, because fuel oil is closely related to diesel. Congresswoman Kirsten Gillibrand (D-20th) has urged the Congressional leadership to include $1 billion for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) in the emergency appropriations bill currently being debated... Meanwhile, according the independent trucker Butch McWhirt , truck drivers are making the best of a bad situation. "There's stuff guys are scarfing up because they've got to try and make the truck payment," he said. "They're trying to ride out the storm, and hoping something better comes along"...

Labels: fuel cost troubles

May 30, 2008

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

May 26, 2008

FUEL COST TROUBLES * WORLDWIDE

* Australia - Trucks run dry

The spiralling cost of fuel is hitting motorists hard, but it's hitting the 47,000 companies in the trucking industry even harder

Melbourne,Australia -The Melbourne Herald Sun, by Stuart St Clair -May 27, 2008: -- ... Last week I spoke to one owner-driver who runs a B-double - one of the articulated trucks with two trailers you see on the Hume Freeway... He is now spending $17,000 a month on fuel, compared with $12,000 in October last year, but he hasn't been able to increase his freight rates... Many small operators and owner drivers have been trying to absorb the rising cost of fuel. Many are locked into fixed-price contracts, so imposing a fuel surcharge as the airlines or the major trucking companies are doing is not an option... Many of these companies will go out of business in the next few months unless they can get their customers to renegotiate their contracts... There are companies that will need to increase their freight rates by more than 10 per cent just to start breaking even again... Some freight forwarders will argue they shouldn't have to pay more, but they face a stark alternative... They can either pay higher rates to the companies they deal with now, or watch them go out of business and try to negotiate new contracts with the trucking companies that survive... (Video from YouTube, by mrsbugga - April 26, 2008: "Big Truck, Little Driveway!" - B Double Argosy coming in a single gate)

* France - Truckers stranded at French port

Cherbourg,France -The Press Association (UK) -26 May 2008: -- Up to 20 Irish truck drivers have been stranded in Cherbourg for four days after French fishermen angry at high fuel costs blockaded the port... It is one of a number hit by the nationwide protest which has seen the trucks, loaded with meat, vegetables and other produce, unable to leave... Freight operator Derek Lenehan, who has a lorry with 40,000 euro worth of potatoes bound for Dublin stuck at the port, said he is concerned they will perish if left any longer... Ferry company Celtic Link transported a number of trucks from Rosslare to Cherbourg last Thursday.. The Irish Road Haulage Association (IRHA) is urging the Department of Transport to pressure the French government into resolving the bitter row... The Department of Foreign Affairs said it was liaising with French authorities over the dispute...

Labels: fuel cost troubles

May 24, 2008

FUEL COST TROUBLES * STRIKES WORLDWIDE

* Greece - Truckers ON STRIKE

Athens,Greece -The Sofia Echo (Bulgaria), by Spasena Baramova -23 May 2008: -- The increase in fuel prices over the past months triggered a series of strikes by those employed in transportation around the Balkans... The Greeks were the first to start action with a 10-day truckers’ strike that led to considerable fuel and goods shortage and caused rising tension around the country before it ended on May 15. Romanian road carriers followed suit on May 12, passing on the torch to Bulgarian transport companies, who started protests on May 19... In Greece, tanker truck owners together with owners of public-use trucks demanded a 13 per cent increase in their haulage charges instead of the five per cent agreed by the Greek government the previous month. They also sought permission to use the national highways on weekends and had demands relating to pensions and social insurance... Meanwhile, the ongoing protest actions had an immediate impact on fuel supply in Greece... There were also shortages in some food markets caused by producers’ inability to transport goods... The truckers’ protest also hit shipping as several ferries failed to leave ports for lack of fuel, Athens News Agency reported. At 5am on May 12, taxi drivers joined the truckers’ protest, staging a 24-hour strike... Finally, on May 14, tanker truck owners decided to stop protesting. They were followed by the owners of public-use trucks on May 15...

* Romania - Truckers ON STRIKE

In the meantime, Romania faced similar actions on the part of truck drivers. On May 12 about a hundred trucks drove along Bucharest’s ring road protesting against the national roads toll. They demanded that this toll should only be charged on motorways... Other requests included providing more transparency when collecting fuel excises and improving rest sites... However, the Romanian transport ministry claimed that the revenue from motorway tolls alone could not provide enough funding for the upkeep and expansion of national roads, so necessitating the levying of tolls on the latter... The truckers’ protest continued on May 13 when more than 300 trucks drove along Bucharest’s ring road... It ended at midnight the same day after government representatives assured the protesting truckers they would meet prime minister Calin Popescu Tariceanu the following week... (Photo: REUTERS)

* Canada - Gas prices squeezing truckers

Dieppe,Nova Scotia,Canada -The Chronicle Herald (Halifax,Nova Scotia), by MARK TAYLOR -May 23, 2008: -- The New Brunswick government should help the province’s truckers deal with rising fuel costs, the head of the Atlantic Provinces Trucking Association says... Pump prices for regular self-serve gasoline in New Brunswick rose only 0.1 cents on Thursday but the price of self-serve diesel rose from a maximum price of $1.50 a litre last week to $1.54... Long-haul trucks use diesel fuel... "When you are a region like ours, we are apart from the main markets you would think of. We are not a high-volume area or an area of high population and certainly when you are looking at things like the Atlantic Gateway, Atlantica and self-sufficiency, the rising price of fuel is really going to have an impact on all of these initiatives and on the economy," said Peter Nelson, executive director of the New Brunswick Association... He said Atlantic Canada relies heavily on trucking, so both truckers and consumers feel the impact of higher fuel prices... To add to the headache for truckers, many trucking companies are also dealing with tighter credit terms. He said lending institutions are also making credit terms more difficult...

Labels: fuel cost troubles

May 23, 2008

FUEL COSTS TROUBLES * WORLDWIDE

* Australia - TRUCKING PROTEST ... a waste of time (P.N: ... ?? ...)

Adelaide,SA,Australia -ABC On Line -22/05/2008: -- Plans for a national trucking shutdown have been dismissed by South Australian truckers as a stunt... Up to 1000 people from the transport industry will meet in Townsville this weekend, to plan a mid-July industry shutdown, because of the planned introduction of work diaries... The diaries replace existing log books, and introduce more severe penalties for anyone breaching fatigue management rules... Steven Shearer, from South Australia's Road Transport Association, says the new regulations are the result of seven years of negotiations with the Federal Government, and a protest now will achieve nothing... "In the past, when they've tried blockades and things, it gets a little bit of media coverage for about a day and that's it," he said... "These guys need to really get serious about getting involved properly and actually finding out what's going on in the early stages, instead of trying to pull a stunt for a few hours that is really going to achieve nothing other than give a bit of a boost to the media."...

* Truck industry warns freight rates on the rise

The trucking industry’s customers will have to pay higher freight rates to reflect the spiralling price of diesel

Fairfax,Australia -Stock and Land -22 May 2008: -- ... the Chairman of the Australian Trucking Association, Trevor Martyn, warned today... Mr Martyn said the retail price of diesel was now more than 180 cents a litre in some capital cities, compared to about 134 cents per litre in October last year – an increase of almost 35 per cent... He warned the price of diesel could go above $2 per litre in the next few months... "Some trucking companies impose fuel levies and adjust them regularly, but many companies have been trying to absorb the rising cost of fuel," Mr Martyn said. "Those companies will go out of business unless their customers pay freight rates that reflect their real costs"... "Our customers have got to understand they face a stark alternative. They can either pay freight rates that reflect the cost of fuel, or a large number of trucking companies will have to close down. Once that happens, our customers won’t be able to find operators to move their goods in a timely way."... Mr Martyn said there was nothing the Australian Government could do to reduce diesel prices... "The Government has already made the important decision to retain the fuel tax credit scheme, which means that trucking companies pay 19 cents per litre in fuel tax rather than 38 cents per litre"...

* Philippines - Solon seeks removal of EVAT on oil for public transport

Manila,Philippines -GMANews.TV -22 May 2008: -- A senator on Thursday called for the removal of the 12 percent expanded value added tax (EVAT) on oil products... However, Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri said that the removal of the EVAT would only be limited to vehicles being used as public transport like jeepneys, taxis, buses and cargo trucks... Sen. Pia Cayetano, said the Motor Vehicle Parts Manufacturers Association of the Philippines (MVPMAP) has already made headway in developing 44 Philippine-made electric jeepneys or e-jeeps... The e-jeep runs entirely on electricity and can cover a maximum distance of 100 km to 120 km on a single charge of eight hours...

* Kenya - Truckers Feel the Pinch of Rising Prices of Crude

Thika,Kenya -All Africa.com(Washington,DC,USA), by Abyssinia Lati -22 May 2008: -- Mr Sam Wanyoike of Thika has been in the truck transport business for the last three years, but profit margins have fallen to the lowest ebb ever... "My profit has reduced by 10 per cent," he says, blaming the rising cost of diesel for the turn of events. Mr Wanyoike ferries cargo from Mombasa to Kampala in Uganda. His two 36-tonne trucks make four trips per month, when there are no delays at the port or breakdowns along the way... A surge in demand for oil and instability in the Middle East are among factors behind the rise in fuel costs...

Labels: fuel cost troubles

FUEL FRUSTRATION * USA - Fuel costs more than people.

The price of diesel fuel rises daily and it’s now the highest expense for local trucking companies, surpassing even personnel costs

Pottsville,PA,USA -Republican Herald, by STEPHANIE LASOTA -May 22, 2008: -- ... Nationally, the trucking industry will spend an anticipated $135 billion for fuel this year, compared to $112 billion last year, according to Kristin Vasey, a spokeswoman for the Pennsylvania Motor Truck Association... Pennsylvania has the second-highest state average for diesel fuel costs, right after California, she said. In 2005, a gallon of diesel fuel surpassed the cost of a gallon of gasoline, according to statistics from the Energy Information Administration... Jonathan Cogan, EIA energy information specialist, said the price comes down to simple supply and demand issues... The Federal excise tax on on-highway diesel fuel, 63.6 cents a gallon, is also 6 cents higher than the tax on gasoline. Crude oil spiked to $128.93 a barrel Tuesday, according to the most recent EIA statistics... “The U.S. is somewhat unusual in that gasoline by far is the predominant form of petroleum used, whereas in the rest of the world, diesel is the predominant petroleum product used. That leads to that tighter world supply- demand balance that we see,” Cogan said... Alan Felty, owner of Harold M. Felty Inc., Pine Grove, a 50-year-old family business with 11 trucks, said he recently bought six used vehicles, including two Dodge Neons and a Ford Focus, to help soften the economic blow of diesel fuel... “We used to bring our trucks home here and fuel up at the shop, but with the price of fuel, we went and bought some small cars and keep the trucks at Shoemakersville and the drivers come back in cars,” Felty said... Cash and debit price for a gallon of diesel fuel was $4.71 Wednesday at Raceway Truck Stop, Pine Grove. It was $4.77 for credit card users. Gary S. Brar, manager of the truck stop said, credit card surcharges and fuel surcharges for product shipments to his store are also a problem he faces.“There are two people making money: credit card companies and oil companies,” Brar said... (PHOTO, by ANDY MATSKO: Truckers drive through the rain and fog on Interstate 81 near the MInersville exit)

* Truckers rally against high diesel prices

Albany,NY,USA -The Albany Times Union, by Eric Anderson -May 22, 2008: -- Horns blaring, dozens of trucks made their way south on the Northway this afternoon to the Wilton Truck Plaza at Exit 16, where drivers held a rally to protest high fuel prices... On a day when diesel prices at the pump were surging past $5 a gallon, the truckers listened to several elected officials assail everything from oil company profits to those who opposed a summer gas-tax holiday... One rally organizer, Charles Claburn, said truckers would stop hauling goods and produce into New York City if relief from fuel and other taxes wasn’t forthcoming. He also put some of the blame for truckers’ financial woes on commodities speculators... Drivers say they’re hurting... Bill Sutton, a trucker from Batavia in western New York, said his truck gets 5 to 5 1/2 miles per gallon. The 300-mile trip to the Capital Region costs him $300 in fuel alone... While many of the participants in today’s rally are independent truckers, the fuel prices and economic slowdown are taking a toll on larger trucking companies, too...

Labels: fuel cost troubles

May 12, 2008

FUEL COST TRUBLES * Greece - Truckers' Strike

Greeks queue for petrol as fuel truckers strike

Athens,Greece -Reuters/Peak Oil -12 May 2008: -- Thousands of Greeks queued for hours at petrol stations to fill up their cars on Saturday as a fuel truck drivers' strike started to hit supplies... Some 70 percent of stations around the country had run out of petrol, officials said, as the strike to press for higher distribution fees for truck drivers entered its fifth day... "I toured 15 petrol stations across most of northern Athens but none of them had any fuel left," driver Dimitris Leontaridis told Reuters. "I had not planned for this and now I don't know how I'll get to work on Monday."...

* Philippines - Transport strike: AFP to use rice delivery trucks for ‘libreng sakay’

Manila,Philippines -GMA News -11 May 2008: -- The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said Sunday it may divert trucks delivering National Food Authority (NFA) rice to ferrying commuters stranded by Monday's transport strike... Radio dzBB reported that the AFP Metro Manila command said it is monitoring the situation to see if the diversion of the NFA-delivering trucks will be needed... AFP Metro Manila command spokesman Capt. Carlo Ferrer also said that while they will be on heightened alert during the strike, they can go on red alert if the need arises... This developed as militant transport groups, on the eve of their transport strike, warned police against harassing them with claims of blocking and forcing other drivers to join them...

Labels: fuel cost troubles

May 7, 2008

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

FUEL COST TROUBLES * Canada - APTA wants tax cut on diesel

The head of the Atlantic Provinces Trucking Association is calling for the provincial government here to give truckers a break by slashing the tax on diesel by a dime a liter

Fredericton,AP,CAN -The Daily Gleaner/ Today's Trucking -6 May 2008: -- ... The APTA executive director, Peter Nelson, told that rising costs of fuel -- especially in the Atlantic provinces where prices are the most inflated -- has now trumped the shortage of drivers as the industry's top concern... Diesel pump prices have been around $1.40 for the past week. In more remote parts of the region, the price can be as much as $1.50... A spokesperson with the Department of Finance said a review of fuel taxes, among other consumption taxes, will be part of a green paper on tax reform in the province... A legislative committee will be then make recommendations to the government about tax policy...

Labels: fuel cost troubles

May 6, 2008

FUEL COSTS * USA - Oil Soars Past $122; Regulators Considering More Oversight

With oil soaring to new records — crude surged past $122 a barrel on Tuesday for the first time — federal regulators are considering stricter regulation of the oil industry

New York,NY,USA -The Wall Street Journal/ Transport Topics -5 May 2008: -- ... The Federal Trade Commission last week said it would examine such things as withholding supplies from the market as it prepares to write rules aimed at banning manipulation, the paper said... Crude oil topped $120 a barrel on the New York Mercantile for the first time Monday and pushed past $122 in intraday Nymex trading on Tuesday, the Associated Press reported... Acting under authority granted in a 2007 energy law, the FTC may extend its reach to oil-trading markets, competing with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the traditional overseer of energy markets, the Journal reported...

* DOE Boosts Diesel-Price Forecast - Trucking’s Primary Fuel to Average Close to $4 This Year

Washington,DC,USA -Transport Topics -6 May 2008: -- Diesel fuel will average $3.94 per gallon at the pump this year — more than a dollar over last year’s average and higher than the $3.62 forecast issued last month, the Department of Energy said... The projected increase “reflects global strength in diesel demand that is contributing to a widening of the margin between diesel prices and crude oil costs since last year,” DOE said in its monthly short-term energy forecast released Tuesday... Retail diesel prices will fall next year and average a projected $3.67 per gallon, DOE said. Diesel averaged $2.88 per gallon last year... (Photo by Bruce Harmon/Trans Pixs)

* DeFazio Says Congress Should Help Truckers Hit by Fuel Costs - Key Congressman Calls for More Broker Disclosure

Washington,DC,USA -Bloomberg/Transport Topics -6 May 2008: -- A key Congressman said lawmakers should help the trucking industry cope with diesel prices that have risen 45% in the past year,reported... Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.), who chairs the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s highways and transit subcommittee, proposed at a Tuesday hearing to require freight brokers to disclose their profits and pass on fuel surcharges they assess to customers, Bloomberg said... DeFazio said a “huge number” of smaller and independent trucking companies have been pushed out of the business by soaring diesel prices, Bloomberg reported... But the cause of high diesel prices is the steep rise in crude-oil prices and is not something Congress can control, Deutsche Bank analyst Ryan Todd told the subcommittee...

Labels: fuel cost troubles