02.15.2008
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| Closures, floods hit trucking industry hard
Closures, floods hit trucking industry hard 2/15/08 The Olympian, WA Quote:
February's mountain pass closures and December's floods that shut down Interstate 5 have taken a toll on the state's trucking industry.
Detours have increased fuel expenses for trucking companies and frayed the nerves of customers who had to wait longer for deliveries, said Stan Vander Pol, vice president of the Washington Trucking Association.
Trucking companies typically lose money during winter months, then profit in better weather, he said.
"The closing of the passes just increased our losses by $35,000 for that week," Vander Pol said. "There were no rabbits we could pull out of the hat to avoid it."
Truckers who would have used the passes were forced to drive to Portland, then east along the Columbia River Gorge, to get to Central and Eastern Washington.
"Instead of the 208 miles from Seattle to Spokane, it became 560 miles," Vander Pol said.
The pass closures added to a challenging winter for trucking companies, said Brent Vander Pol, operations manager for Peninsula Trucking of Auburn. He is Stan Vander Pol's nephew.
"It's been difficult all winter long," he said. "It really started with Interstate 5 flooding (and closing) in December."
Frank Sinkula, dispatcher for Tacoma Motorfreight Service, said the closures led to rescheduled deliveries, delays and impatient customers.
"It put me behind in my scheduling for days," Sinkula said. "I had to rebook and reschedule. But it's the nature of the beast. You just deal with it."
Stan Vander Pol said he could not estimate how much business association members lost as a percentage of normal business. He said trucking companies who compete with his company were reluctant to share information on lost business.
http://www.theolympian.com/business/story/360010.html |  |
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