The journey begins - purchased a truck.

It's hard to say what the impact will be, although it will be hit the hardest in the oil rich regions. It will take time for the effects of this to work themselves out. You have to remember that there was a lot of folks who wanted in on the big money in the oil fields, and leveraged themselves pretty heavily. When the bottom falls out of something like this, and capacity exceeds demand and drives rates down, the ones who are leveraged heavily will not be able to survive financially, after their less than graceful exit from the industry, bankruptcy, is what will drive rates back up as capacity shortens.

 

I don't think it's going to make a big difference nationally any more than the demise of New Century did. A drop in a large bucket. The oil fields are just one segment of transportation and trucking is 84% of transportation--where rail is a paltry 6% despite a major shift to transporting oil. Lower fuel cost lowers operating costs. That's a good thing for transportation, including rail and air. Trucking makes up 5% of GDP (Gross Domestic Product) and won't be hobbled by the collapse in one segment.

The oil fields had to pay big money to draw enough labor and trucks into the fields. We will return to a more 'normalized' market capacity is all. Some individuals and individual companies will suffer. Not trucking as a whole.

 

Sorry for the Hijack

 

I believe anyone that thinks this drop is long term or permenant has their head in the sand. Buying RV's and boats like the good old days? With a third of the country or more out of work and 47 million people on food stamps?

 

Sorry for the hijack blair!

 

I'll talk to him. I'm fairly sure he will let you live.

 

The only thing that will really keep any oil prices down is a real switch to alternative fuels, not the occasional urban new age family buying a couple of hybrids or electric-only cars.

Do you guys see more homes using solar energy? Sure but its still a tiny tiny fraction of all. Its the same for using hydrogen or electricity in cars. Big big changes take America decades to complete. Either the big corporations slow the changes or most customers want to make sure its completely proven to work to make the change.

I see these low diesel prices as part of that price roller coaster a lot of product see until it either stabilizes and only goes up because of inflation or it completely drops because the demand has turned to a new, better product or better value product.

And I agree. People won't be buying boats I think they will want a better car or bigger home before boats. Boats are like spoiling your oldest kid, they are last in line haha

 

Sorry for the Hijack

 

Once again you show your ignorance beyond driving someone else's truck and a trailer with doors. The heavy haul market is going to hurt bad, rate wise and the platform market is going to suffer greatly in those regions. Comparing oil industry transportation to a medium size trucking company is absolutely ridiculous. What did new century have, 500 trucks? A drop in the bucket compared to just the trucks pulling pipe out of Houston.

 

Your insults just reflect your own sad issues, glock. If you've got a point, make your point and keep your insults, okay?

So Houston pipe goes from boom to bust.

A big so what in the larger scheme. Individually, it's gonna be a scramble and the nimble will land on their feet, as rates and wages in the fields fall back down to earth. High rents and man camps will give way to a new normal.

The oil rush is on hold... if not off for 10 years as tommy says.

Big Don would say start a thread and leave Blair's thread out of this.

I agree.