Truck Owners ANGRY and Scared Over Fuel Costs

[Working Class Patriot]

Originally Posted by roadkill439342

Just a MINOR correction:

MOST corporations are "mom and pop" businesses.

Exactly!!!!

Thanks for catching that one RK

You GET IT

[Working Class Patriot]

Originally Posted by MedicineMan

I have an oil well practacly in my back yard. If I have to deal with it everyone should too!!

OIL makes the world go 'round.....

[MedicineMan]

well it can go around to the other side of town.

Actually they finally started breaking it down the other day. THAN GOD! although my luck will put it IN my back yard next. And there isn't a thng you can say about it

[MotherTrucker204]

Just had to put my two cents in....I'm new to this forum but not new to the industry...I have read all the posts to this thread and, like Matthews, I too am at my wits end about the fuel situation and the industry as a whole also... My opinion tends to lean towards the point that "5mouths-to-feed" brings up about the rates....FSC's don't come close to covering the increased cost of operation..The increased oil prices also effect increased cost of maintenance. The rates have to be adjusted for profitability. Here's something some of you may never have looked at....For company drivers operating on the 80 hour rule...convert your weekly earnings to an hourly rate and see what you end up with... For Owner Operators (sole proprietor) take your net to the truck after expenses and use the same 80 hour rule...( Hello, welcome to Walmart...) I, too, feel that something should be done ASAP to control this and also am having trouble trying to figure out the best way to bring attention to this situation. I don't think striking is the answer. What I think would be a more immediate attention getter would be using the media to bring attention on a national level to the problems faced by the industry. Rather than ask all drivers to shut down (which will never happen effectively), I would propose setting a strategic date to implement a "rolling convoy" to each states capital and Washington DC. This would certainly bring media attention to the situation. This would allow a greater number of participants. I truly believe that "john q. public" does not realize the impact the trucking industry plays in the national economy. The media keeps us well informed on the soaring oil prices. If the "convoy" attention brought to light the need for change and make "john Q. public" more aware of how important the industry is to providing the goods American's need and use in their everyday lives might bring about change. I don't know.....just a thought....

[Sergeant-Scream]

As I see it, the same idea was brought about when gas prices were high enough at $2.35, emails after emails forwarded back and forth among us all about just not driving one day on this and that certain day. (IMPOSSIBLE) to get everyones attention to do such a thing.... But with truckers and this forum it could possibly take a mass PM or forum post to start with a day we just start shutting down and letting the trucks sit....... I know it is probably impossible but look at the Baseball strike that happened a couple years ago, could a truckers strike actually happen soon?????

[5mouths2feed]

Lazy Americans that want huge returns on their stock investment, expecting a free ride on the backs of the working man is the cause of this. So I am lazy because I had enough brains to do the research and invest my money into companies? Do you own stocks? If you do then you must know that one must devote time and energy on a daily basis to one's stock portfolio. Lazy? heh, I work harder now than I did when I ran a crew or drove a company truck.

Perhaps I wasn't clear about my meaning. Investing properly in stock is time consuming. You have been in the business for 22years so I presume you are 45+. My statements refer to, what I am sure you too have seen, the lazy mentality of America's younger generation. I'm sure you will agree that the general working mentality has gone from Blood, sweat and tears, working for a living to, I wanna sit on my butt and get paid lots of money.

As companies provide stock they have an obligaton to insure, as best they can, a strong return on that investment. You didn't buy your stocks to lose money, you bought them expecting to recieve a profit from your investments. As more people lean to the mentality of I wanna get rich off someone else's work the system breaks. There has to be a balance of investors and workforce. The general mentality of the under 40 crowd is based on earnings not gained from physical labor.

Stock purchases are a great supplement to hardwork. Unfortunately more and more expect it to be a replacement to hard work. You balance hard work with smart investments this does not make YOU part of the lazy people I am refering to. It was not my intent to lable every investor as lazy.

You can only stack so much of your load on one side of the trailer before it crashes onto its side. Balance must be maintained.
This too refers to under-cutting another business. Only so much under- cutting can be absorbed before the balance has shifted to the point that no-one can afford to haul a load or paint a car or fix a sink..........

Government is scewed up and is responsible for many things but they did not force Business A to do a job for less than business B only to have business B claim they will now do it for less than A until neither one could afford to do the job and still feed their family.

I have worked in the repair industry for many years and when the economy dictates an increase in shop labor rates then all of the surrounding shops will follow the first to raise it within 10% of each other.
If you want your car fixed then our labor rates are $90/hr at shop A,B,C,D,E............. Guess what the customer pays for labor? $90/hr..
This keeps everyone in business and removes the cut-throat mentality that has brought shipping rates so low.

That is what I am proposing with the shipping industry. If rates for each type of cargo are set at a specific MINIMUM amount and the frieght MUST be shipped then the rates will be met.

Heres your sign:

Minimum shipping rates.
Flat XXX cpm
Dry XXX cpm
Reefer XXX cpm
OD XXX cpm
HH XXX cpm
Etc...................

Yes this cost will be passed on to the consumer at which point then the government will have the abilty to adjust interest rates, minimum wages, fuel exploration and drilling, alternative fuel sources to reducing needs of fossil fuels in some markets(electric demands) allowing for more in those that are not as econmically adjusted to alternatives (diesel trucks), etc. to boost the economy.

Regulating fuel, broker profits, etc. is NOT the answer.

[Working Class Patriot]

Originally Posted by MedicineMan

well it can go around to the other side of town.

Actually they finally started breaking it down the other day. THAN GOD! although my luck will put it IN my back yard next. And there isn't a thng you can say about it

Have checked on the property easements?

Here in CA they are 5' from BPL and down through the "breezeways". Otherwise, the utility companies would not be able to provide services. Also in CA, as a property owner you own the land to a depth of 500'. This suits oil companies, gas companies and water companies because those commodities are usually found below 500'. All of the aforementioned commodities can be obtained through horizontal extraction. It just depends on how much of the commodity exists and how much drill rod the companies want to push in the ground to reach the resource point.

[broncrider]

yes i think it could....not that we want it to but ...enuff poeple are losing thier shirts with this, frieght rates being very low and expenses being very high

alot of folks are about to lose thier trucks and jobs, and alot already have

basicly as i see it, right now we are sitting on a powerkeg smoking a cigar....its only a matter of time

but i feel we need to be smart about this, to ensure no ill will, bad feelings or lost wages....hence i think a slowdown makes more sence than a shutdown

not to mention that we as an industry need to have a list of things we need to repair, an agreement of sorts and no government intrusion

[MotherTrucker204]

Could a strike happen? sure...Will it happen? No... There' one problem with comparing the baseball strike to a trucker's strike....money..Look at how much the baseball players are paid, they can afford to strike and not suffer financially. Truckers on the other hand, in many cases, cannot afford a shut-down. When you consider the fact that there are so many of us out there just barely keeping our heads above water right now, the thought of shutting down is not an option. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to see it happen. Company drivers would be fearful of losing their jobs. It has to be a united effort by all to be successful...

[Working Class Patriot]

5mouths2feed, fair enough.

Not all of those kids are lazy. They have us as an example to follow. What these kids have seen is old guys (yeah I admit it, I'm one of the old guys now..heh) busted their azzes and some died before they retired or shortly thereafter. Of course that's their perception.
Anyone who worked 30 years ago or earlier knows that the workforce has changed, safety enforcement has changed and the overall ethic has changed.

I remember we used to smoke while cutting asbestos pipe...we never wore hard hats or steel-toed boots. What was hearing protection? We did not wear it and that's why we all are driving our families crazy when we reply HUH? every time the ask us something.
Those kids don't want to end up like the majority of us over-weight and with assorted health problems.

If we want to make a difference and set an example let's show these kids how to get things done. We all come from different walks of life but we all have one thing in common. We are involved in trucking a once honorable business and we can return it back to that time.

We need to set realistic goals and we can do it here on this forum.

You want to make a difference let's do it. But let's do it in way that shows that we truckers aren't a bunch of Red-necks (no offense), we are business people just like those who run manufacturing or servicing. We are a vital component in the American business community. Stop thinking that we are just there to work for someone. We provide a necessary service that without it, nothing moves.

Stop thinking that we're only TRUCK DRIVERS...that's just part of what we do.