Truck Owners ANGRY and Scared Over Fuel Costs

I have just finished reading the entire thread and half way through before I realized that I should have kept a notepad with me so as to keep notes and my thoughts in order. We are all worryed, some more than others. Some are "standing at the edge of a cliff about to fall off" and some "see the cliff ahead and it is just a matter of time before they reach the edge". I don't claim to have any of the answers, I have to leave that to those that are far more knowledgable than me. I know, as well as those involed here, that the rates and the FSC are really the issue right now. But what happens if they are increased and shippers have to pay more? What will happen is the cost of all goods will go higher forcing us to spend more for our necessities. Granted the increased cost of goods will be less, as a whole, than what it costs to fuel our trucks but it does create a new set of hurdles. Consumers start slowing their spending which creates others markets to slow down and inturn creates law-offs etc. etc.

Who takes point in this charge? Sorry, but those that say start shut'n 'em down this week-end might not be the best ones to do it. A link was placed during this thread that directs you to your state senators and congressmen. Print it up, write it down, memorize it or what ever it takes. Then get with every driver and family member that you can and plead with them to write to them. It will take less than 5 minutes to do this. Their offices have to be flooded with is issue for them to want to do something. Once you can say in your heart that you have honestly tried, then a shut down would be the only alturnitive. I know that lots of us have done this but how many other people have you recruited to do the same.

Again, I don't have the answers and I am just another screen-name on the internet giving my 2 cents.

 

i say shut em down we have stopped going out of state if we can help it. I think if most of us would just shut em down for a week we could bring fuel prices down. if the trucks dont move it wont take long for everyone in this country to feel the pinch. when they cant go to the store and buy anything folks are gonna get the message. remember the people that work at the oil refineries have to eat to.
and so do the politicians.

 

In the early ninties I paid $40 shop rate at peterbilt Waukesha. What is it now? $80 or $90

Used to get Michelin tires fr about $225 each, now in the $400+ area

look like fixed costs to me

 

Once again it's not the cost of tires that are putting us out of business. You don't stop and buy a set of tire once every couple of days. I agree and wish we could go unregulated. But since we can't abolish FMCSA and their oversight then it's time we get them to finally do something to help the trucking industry. If you do not want any government intervention or assistance then why don't the moderators of this site get together with and put forth a viable solution to the fuel problem to try to unify the members of this site behind a solution. Telling drivers to park and hope that the government mysteriously comes up with money from the budget to pay shippers fuel is just a pipe dream. Which is more likely, getting money from state budgets for fuel or getting FMCSA to get off it's backside and enforce one more rule.

 

Originally Posted by jasonb1
Your freight rate could be the same as was 20 years ago because all costs are relatively fixed except for fuel costs.



your words, not mine

 

for the past few days i have stood back and contimplated what would be the best, attemt to fit all answer

nope i still dont have one

a strike will probaly only make normal folks even madder at us
more government? um no thanks
more rules? i think we have too many now
take a week off...ok prices will suddley drop, then when we go back to work prices will shoot up again
boycott bad brokers, shippers...ok i can stand behind that
dont hual without an FSC....im good with that
dont hual cheap....i dont unless i really need to get to a better area...and i have been known to d/h aways when i get good and mad

im as lost and pissed as the rest of you...but until we have a good plan, we're stuck

 

from the mid 90"s to now
showers then $4.00 today $10.00
coffee then 50 cents today $1.39
buffet then $4.95 and good today $10.95 and sucks
soda then .50 cents a can today a buck
rotella oil then $3.50 a gal. today $12 bucks a gal.
pm then $99.95 today $250.00 plus
there is a half dozen examples any you say things haven't gone up??
theses are just a few examples of the hundreds besides fuel and this is for a !0 year period.
You have got one thing right rates haven't gone up in twenty years, company driver wages have only gone up about 20% in 20 years everything else has gone up 3,4,5 hundred percent in just 10 or 12 years