Posted on 03/27/2008 7:40:11 PM PDT by KTM rider
What started as a small, online grassroots effort now appears to have the potential for something bigger.
Dan Little, the owner/operator of a livestock hauling company in Carrollton, Mo., estimated Tuesday that at least 1,000 other truckers from across the United States have committed so far to joining him in a strike on April 1.
At issue is the rising cost of diesel fuel, which has reached or exceeded $4 per gallon in at least 17 states. But Little does not expect his strike to bring down the per-gallon price of gas, nor does he expect to have any effect on the oil companies.
“What I would personally like to see is our federal and state governments, until our economy recovers, suspend federal and state fuel taxes,” the 49-year-old said. “The second thing I’d like to see is an oversight committee for truck insurance, which is part of what’s taking us down.,
“Everything in the world is going up (in price), except for what we do. I lose money if I start my truck, and that truck is paid for — free and clear.”
Keith Deblieck, the owner of a trucking company out of Geneseo, Ill., said that, for many drivers, the time for a strike has come.
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“In no way, shape or form do truckers want to hurt this country. My whole deal on this thing is that I’m shutting down on April 1. Call it a strike, a shutdown or just flat-ass going broke.”
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“Our federal government is subsidizing railroads, airlines, banks and farmers,” he said. “Meanwhile, we’re being taxed to death.”
Barb Ickes can be contacted at (563) 383-2316 or bickes@qctimes.com.
(Excerpt) Read more at qctimes.com ...
Diesel is the first process in making Gas and it should be 1/3 the cost based on comparison of cost to produce between the two products.
these truckers will just be replaced by illegal aliens like the Harbor Container haulers
The samll companies or O/O's will just go unbder and the huge transportation companies.
The "Owner Operator Independent Association" sounds like a sham phony shill group
I'm 100% behind this, Our own US government is totally screwing us on every level !
Let's not forget State and Local Gov'ts. They are very bit as wasteful, corrupt and overbearing as the Feds. They just don't get the exposure.
Amen to that, though I am pretty certain that freight railroads are not subsidized. While gas taxes pay for every other form of transport that can't pay for itself, the real problem is the fact that our own government insists that we not be energy independent. We could, if we really wanted to, drill for all the oil we needed in Alaska and the Gulf of Mexico, but we don't want to, thanks to NIMBYs and other elected idiots who stand in the way of progress. The same goes for refineries too.
I wish them all the best.
Can’t wait for the super-capitalists on this site to come here and trash the unions and everyone else that thinks that Americans are getting hosed by the myth of “free trade”.
Diesel is the first process in making Gas and it should be 1/3 the cost based on comparison of cost to produce between the two products.
So how many gallons of low sulphur diesel do you get out of that 42 gallon barrel of crude? Diesel demand will play a large part in the pricing scheme.
A silent, hard working not-realy-a-minority (the truckers) are pushed into a corner.
This is not only unfair, but it can develop into a huge mess if this ignored ‘minority’ the truckers keep getting the short of of the proverbial stick.
Is it that perhaps the brains up high are just planning something??? Nah, that could not be now, could it???
I hope the people they get to thinking are the ones who keep reelecting the clymers that raise these taxes and prevent drilling for oil.
Precisely. It sickens me to see how many people don't understand basic supply and demand.
I am not taking a side, but just suggesting an entrepreneurial revolution that an electric generator would create?
Someone has to have done it?
What gets me is the feds want to help homeowners who are in the mess they’re in because of their own incompetence..meanwhile, those out there who have done everything they were suppoesd to do is getting screwed..as usual.
What really needs to be done is point some nukes at the Saudi’s and stop them from playing with the oil tap.
After them, traders on the trading floor that bid up the price of oil every time someone spills a gallon of gas filling up their lawnmower.
If a strike goes nation wide, this could be devastating...if you got it, a truck brought it.
Huge amounts of diesel go to the military first, then what’s left over go to the American consumer. When I was in Kuwait I saw tanker truck convoys lining up that stretched for miles getting ready to move into Iraq. I’m completely for the effort in Iraq, but the fact that diesel is so expensive is purely the fault of the greeny Dems (and RINO’s like governor Jeb Bush) blocking any kind of oil exploration anywhere in the USA.
We can’t have coal fired electricity, we can’t have nuclear electricity. The Army Corps of Bungeleers is spilling water around the dams to “save” Salmon instead of creating electricity. We can’t drill for oil in the Gulf of Mexico, off of Florida, off of California, off of Oregone, and in ANWR.
We can’t build more refineries, we can’t log in public lands, we can’t build houses anywhere there’s an endangered bug, we can’t harvest salvage logs after a major Western forest fire, we can’t do anything is this country!
When the economy takes a dive we blame “the evil corporations” and complain that our 401k’s aren’t pulling in %12 annually.
I frankly am getting very close to not caring anymore. Is it any wonder that voter participation is at such a low level? What difference does voting make? Why did I serve in this countries military for over 20 years? It’s pathetic to see.
Any guesses?
A friend owns a trucking company.
She says that each 10 cent increase in the price of diesel costs her drivers $200 per week.
If they do go on strike, you had better be stocked up on food.
In what world?
Oh H*ll let’s just all go on strike, that will REALLY bring down the price of everything.
I have a friend who has probably over a hundred tractor trailers, pays his guys well and they are making good money.
I think the issue is that independents are considered more risky and perhaps less reliable than those large enough to own at least a modest fleet of vehicles.
As far as the cost of fuel, that gets past on to the customer down the line one way or another.
I planted peas yesterday. LOL
Going further with that thought - where is it written that fuel has to be cheap or affordable? Don’t these truckers add the cost of fuel to the trucking bill? Isn’t it a part of the expense of doing business?
The only way these prices are going down is to lower demand. However, how do you stop that machine called the economy?
They know it won't bring down the price. They want the politicians to think about making changes, like maybe drilling in ND, or in the Gulf of Mexico or off FL, isn't such a bad idea after all or building refineries. Maybe Congress needs to get off its collective A$$ and get the oil here, in the U.S., rather than kissing EU and Algore butt regarding the Global Warming hoax.
Global Warming will kill us, but not in the way they want us to think...it will do us in by controlling us to the point of no work, no profit, and starvation.
They are efficient, using about 1/9 of the fuel vs. idling the engine.
But the ultra low sulfur requirements, and the flat out high demand for fuel is scaring too many away from making the investment.
There is tremendous over supply of drivers and equipment, hence no one can raise their prices.
Anyone remember the truck fire in that tunnel out of LA, I/S5, north bound last year? The one where 12 drivers still haven't been located?
Maybe those drivers know their paperwork wouldn't hold up in a serious/fatal accident investigation?
A whole lot of things are contributing to the 'misery index'. Bottom line? I suspect the overall size of the fleet has to drop.
The tax on diesel is $0.244/gallon for the fed compared to $0.184/gallon for gasoline. That tax has been the same within one tenth of a cent since 1993. The average state+fed tax on diesel is $0.536/gallon compared to $0.47 for gasoline.
The oil producers and refiners are responsible for the other $3.50.
oil companies make about .10 per gallon.
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oil companies make about .30 per gallon. (9% at $3.35)
That's a load of BS. Trucks don't burn much idling, and there's a good reason for doing so. One is to keep the driver from freezing to death. They live in their rigs while on the road you know. In cold weather, diesels just don't like to start. If you had any idea what it costs to call a diesel shop for a boost, you'd rather burn a gallon of diesel as well.
Most drivers have an inverter to power their friges and lights, microwaves. The generator is built in, it's called an alternator. If you think you are going to save money or fuel by buying a small gas generator, you'd be wrong. the idling truck burns less gas than those things.
In fact, the diesel truck hauling 74,000 lbs of cargo across the country burns less gas than you do in your honda civic, so the real waster of gas- oil is YOU.
Oil and refined petroleum products are at an all time high, meanwhile a new water treatment plant just went online in Crapistan.
just suggesting an entrepreneurial revolution that an electric generator would create?
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Frame mounted generators cost about $7-8,000 ,, you’re right idling a 12.7 liter diesel to stay warm at night isn’t efficient and using a power inverter is no picnic either ,, the generator solves those problems... some truck stops provide plug-in electric power but at a high cost... When you can buy a serviceable tractor for under $20K that 8K generator that ties into the heating system starts looking mighty expensive....
The real problem with trucking is that any Tom, Dick or Harry can start his own trucking company and underprice efficient well run companies putting both out of business... truckers need to set a bottom line price of $X.XX per loaded mile and stick to it... Mexican trucks burning super cheap diesel from state owned Pemex will eat our industry alive , just draw a line from Savanah GA to LA Cali ,, they will own it ... they need to be taxed to put them on an even footing. I’m tired of giving our industries away.
In some of the bigger truck stops, they have this addressed with units that will keep the reefers going and heat in the cab without having to also run the truck.
But unless you are at one of those stops, if you're hauling reefers and/or it's freezing, you have to run the trucks.
They don't run them just for fun - it costs them too much money.
Reefers have to be run, 24/7, to maintain a very small window of temperature.
Trucks move everything we buy. The supermarkets have enough on hand for ONE days supply.
Truckers are 'out there' 24/7 for weeks, most months (regardless of what the company brochures say about how long out and how long home) - before they get a few days - 4 is the most and seldom that, even if you're an o/o driving for a company. The only way to have more is to be an INDEPENDENT o/o. But then you have to fight tooth and nail for loads.
Today's trucking is very different that even 10 years ago. Not many make it through training and onto the road - and then the attrition rate reaches 100% - it's rough.
This is a market economy. If gas goes up, the price of hauling livestock goes up. His real problem is not the gas. It is the illegal alien truckers that work for dirt and pay no taxes. Sure if gas was cheaper, he would have more of a margin.
I have long been a proponent of taxing gas much HIGHER. There is an external cost to oil. National security, environmental hazards etc. I believe if gas was 5 dollars a gallon.....
1.cost of items would go up, market economy, these things happen. Until number 2 and on happen at which point our consumption would drop, bringing the real cost of gasoline down.
2.All those soccer moms with 2 kids and a suburban would find a way to deal with a sedan.
3.Public transportation would become cost effective. Once again reducing fuel usage.
4.The additional tax income can finance lower income taxes. They are going to get your money either way. I would either pay less in taxes and more at the pump to achieve a realistic cost for fuel.
5.Even at 3 bucks a gallon, there is not enough impetous for development of a practical electric car. If gas were 5 dollars a gallon, you would see them filling driveways.
6.Build enough nuclear reactors to make sure we never burn anouther drop of imported oil.
What would happen then? The price of oil by the barrel goes down. In 10 years maybe the arabs will be drowning in that black crap, or selling it to China and holding them by the balls, not us.
Then can can we drive cars again? Or are we to be punished by being forced to ride on buses and trains for the rest of our lives?
Yeah, because if the cost of doing business goes up, we will all starve....If you are in an essential bussiness (imagine widgets are essential to human survival) If the cost of widget transportation goes up, do the widget drivers give up and watch everyone starve? Does that make sense?
You truckers probably know what I’m talking about but I was talking to a driver at Loves today. He said they can use the “tubes” now and aren’t letting the trucks idle anymore.
The big guys buy fuel at a cut rate - but their drivers are still hurting. And the big guys are feeling the pinch too - one of the biggest just passed down orders for all drivers to cut speed quite drastically to save on fuel - which they will. But then, they get paid by the mile, so, lower speeds, fewer miles. Catch-22.
I think the issue is that independents are considered more risky and perhaps less reliable than those large enough to own at least a modest fleet of vehicles.
HOGWASH
As far as the cost of fuel, that gets past on to the customer down the line one way or another.
Like I said, the big guys get a cut rate - (but their drivers are still hurting bad) - the shipper will pay where he can get the best deal - that makes it hard on the Independents. It isn't because they 'more risky' - if anything, it's often the other way around. It takes a lot more these days to get to the point where you have your own truck and run your own business.
geeeze
You’re right! But when fair pricing hits our products all the citizzens will start complaining to big brother.
I really don’t think the government wants to be fuel independent unless it can control the product. Americans are smart and creative but they are fined and taxed if they try to invent alternatives.
If these are independent truckers, who are they striking against and what are their demands?
Why doesn’t your friend charge her customers a fuel surcharge?
The shippers will ship where they get the lowest rate.
The big trucking companies get a substantially lower fuel rate by buying bulk rates.
These independent truckers pay way more for fuel but they can't 'add that on' - or they wouldn't get the loads in the first place.
That said, even the big guys are now in trouble - it's getting very bad out there.
Everything we buy comes by truck.
Many people grumble about truck drivers - but they'd be mighty upset if they stopped rolling for any amount of time. The supermarkets, for example, have ONE days supply for their area...
Also - every time someone 'adds the cost of doing business' that extra cost rolls uphill to your checkout line.
I've an idea you might not be so cavalier then.
The independent issue that you call hogwash is logically one of the issues with being an independent.
You have to develop a reputation over time, your growth is restricted and everything that happens falls harder on an independent and that is less appealing IMO to a customer.
So many independents haven't kept up with maintenance, tire replacements and so forth.
Granted some fleets may try that, but beyond Primetime shuttles a couple of decades ago, I can't think of any.
I used to be in the business of doing cost accounting for some major trucking companies, so I know some stuff.
Well, for starters you could switch off one fouth of the trucks.
You can drive all you want, just acept that gas costs us more tha it costs to dril refine and transport
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