Anyway, if you didn’t turn a wheel how would you make your truck payment? They might not be making any personal income, but they can stay in business by running at low rates - at least until they have that catastrophic breakdown. That’s all these particular truckers are running for now - trying to hang on and keep their trucks.
To put things in perspective, the USDA reports that last week the highest rate on a truckload of produce from Santa Maria, CA to Chicago was $3,400. That’s $1.57/mile for 2,161 miles. Highway fuel is around $3.55/gallon. At six MPG he’ll burn about $1,280 worth of diesel fuel, which is 37.6% of his gross. (And that does not include the fuel he’ll use in the TK keeping the produce at the right temperature.) There is no way these guys can stay in business over the long term.
And there is no way people are going to go without this food. Which means it’s going to go either to rail movement or be imported by ship. (The truck rates could go up enough to make trucking viable, but rail will come into play first.)
Long haul movements, such as California produce, should never have diverted from rail to truck. They did so largely because of asinine Federal Government regulation of rail rates on produce. (Truck rates on produce were nev
That 600 horse engine will not conume so much fuel per hour working hard upgrade. When you come down from the Rockies and get into the Nebraska/Kansas/Texas… those winds blow and finally when you get to the little bitty rolling hills, you can haul down tourque and keep it steady without the drama of going up and down your high range.
If the fleets would just sacrifice 700 pounds of gross and make APU’s madatory to provide hotel power, engine standby heat good down to -50 and 110 Volt Marine grade house power that will eliminate the idle and provide teh driver with options outside of the truckstop.
I understand that Petro and some others provide engine off live support to the cab with heat, air con, cable tv etc… for about 2 bucks an hour. Give me a break… I can save that 2 dollars per hour and just idle.
If the recievers understand that all trucks lose BAD and endanger other shippers in the area by excessive sloth in unloading or sticking to plus or minus 15 minutes of required on time delivery (Or you get told to go away and get a new appointment tomorrow) things will be better.
Parking is another problem. When I stopped driving, I remember leaving The GWB prepared to drive all the way down past Knoxville, Raliegh or Charles town before even thinking of trying to park for the night when out of hours.
Ive had it up to here with 5 day lost time lounging around the bullpen of a meat plant out in … garden city or similar then being told that if I dont get the beef to Salinas in 40 hours (Before 9 am monday) I will be out of a job and the company out of an account. This isnt the time to be weak and wussy.
Trains can stop when dead on the law and get a new crew. Truckers must dig down, find some oorah and endure 2400+ miles at once to try and be sure Salinas will have meat to eat early in the week.
I can complain and moan all night and never run out of issues that rob truckers, company and shippers/recievers of lost time, money, oppertunities etc.
Not sure if you would need 700 pounds for the APU (though you’re more likely to know than I would), but the idea of an APU does make a lot of sense. You might be able to get similar benefits with a Li-ion battery pack plus a small diesel fired heater to keep the engine warm. Either way would beat idling the main engine.
How about a lower speed limit? How would that affect trucking costs? These environmentalists say re-imposing the 55 MPH speed limit is “low hanging fruit” when it comes to ideas for how to save the earth from annihilation from CO2. If 55 MPH is low hanging fruit, wouldn’t 45 be lower hanging fruit?
Plan a trip from LA to Freehold and you will average 35 mph as a single and about 50 as a team.
Alot of these trucks are casterated as they are anyhow. Some trucks have incorrect governer settings and inadequate power curve setttings where they cannot maintain cruise speed in a strong wind without downshifting and losing 4 mph.
The two lane interstates from the 60’s are not working and the three laners have bad accidents almost daily. Split speed limits really excaberate the problem. No one will be at 55 mph when cars are flying up to thier ICC bumper at 70+ Decapitation is a possibility.
We are already late. How slower do you want the freight?
We all might have to go 24/7 teams just to beat the slower speed limits at great cost to the drivers who must share one revenue source out of the truck each week.
Another problem:
People have no issues waiting on China to make the widget. Then waiting a month for that widget to sail the great wide pacific sea at 20 mph. As soon as it clears customs they want that widget yesterday.
I have been on both sides of the speed problem. One company put computers and enforced 55 mph with instant no questions firing at 69 mph. That 55 mph in the south made me a very sleepy, slow and lethargic worker. I had lots of trouble waiting for cars to smash into my bumper.
So I said screw it and quit that company.
On the other side I was running a true dollar truck that was just amazing all around. 110 mph eastbound on 80 across PA was not hard at all except milesburg. Going the other way you climbed milesburg in the left lane at 70+ mph loaded and it felt like a fast elevator with power to spare.
I quit that company too because I was still late and had lost way too much time in the docks getting loaded. Plus the tickets were eating into the fat paychecks.
After that cooled off…
Speed is always going to be a problem. No one is happy. I myself is waiting on UPS this morning fo
The trouble is the simple fact that the Trucking industry is WAY TO OVERCAPCITY. Ever go to Ontario CA there will be drivers sitting there for days trying to get a load out of there for the same company why to many trucks coming in not enough coming out at high enough rates. Also shippers refuse to pay anything to have us haul it tehy think that it is still 1977 and Carter is in the Whitehouse. Truckers haul freight today for the same rates they got paid in the 70 yet all their costs went up by 300% they are forced to make cuts in somplace. Fuel does not cost 50 cents a gallon anymore try close to 4 Bucks a gallon anymore also IRP and taxes and Insurance are alot higher. I did a look at the Revenue of what I did in 2000 and compared it to what my dad did in 1982 guess what only increased 10% yet the costs were 90% higher FOR ME.
People wonder why we are shipping things in from China anymore it is because no company in the US can produce it for what the Retail stores like Wal-Mart Target and the other Big Box stores will pay.
I would like to thank all those who contributed to the discussion. I appreciate your thoughts and the time you took to provide me with some input. It seems time will tell how it all unfolds. Folks still want their catalog purchases in a few days, and if that is a leather sofa, it will still want to go by an 18 wheeler in most respects.
The Trucking (Independents)., need to come together., long as they will cut each others throats over a load., they will be like this 10 years from now., my philosophy, is if you cant make any money., dont do it, pretty simple., believe a lot of truckers are just that., but not good with the business skills., just my opinion., but have you ever noticed., about everything we use in day to day existing is brought to you by a Truck![soapbox]
People talk as if Exxon’s profits are somehow destroying America. Folks, Exxon is owned by YOU and ME. It’s not a cabal of evil men sitting around laughing at our misfortunes. No, America’s economy is intricately interwoven with Exxon and the other oil companies. What WILL hurt America is if Hillary or Obama (edited by selector) decides that they should steal (and I mean STEAL) from these companies in order to make life “fair”. We should all be concerned about their long, sticky fingers.
As for the rising fuel costs, I believe it will all shake out in the end. For one thing, if costs go too high, won’t the slowing economy eventually drive prices down again? Also, the free market is a wonderful, wonderful thing when pressured into action; men and women with genius IQs are burning the midnight oil (pardon the pun) to come up with alternative energy sources. I truly believe that we will see a huge increase in battery-operated vehicles, including big trucks, in my lifetime (I’m 35). I think we’ll see nuclear energy come back into play. Windmills are producing significant amounts of power and are being built like crazy in the USA. While oil still may be king of the hill, don’t think that it is irreplaceable.
It is my belief that every building inside the USA can benefit from Solar. If large enough with quality panels they can even export power to the grid and make money off that second meter.
Imagine the load taken off the grid with every building participating in the National Power?
Commodity costs are frightening. Everyone is plowing that farm under to plant crops soley for fuel. What happens when we have fuel plenty in 10 years but no food to ship?
It amazes me to see comments critical of Exxon profits on a railroad board, as though the higher railroad profits would not, at some point, yield to exactly the same kind of skewered logic offered by one of the current candidate crop "I’m going to take those profits and …'.
And, no, it wasn’t Hugo Chavez, even though it certainly sounded like it.
Diesel in Akron was $3.94.9 yesterday.And no,we don’t always recoup from fuel surcharges.A lot of businesses won’t pay them,and find someone cheaper.And there is a lot of people out there that will haul at a loss,just to get work.Whether it be rail,highway,air,or barge,people gotta have their stuff,but they all balk at the transportation costs.
Speaking of Hugo Chavez, his fellow travelers, profit, and the end of the road; never has such a great country stood so close to the edge of such a high cliff.
Eloquently put. My last visit there was just before the wheels started to come off politically. An extraordinarily beautiful country with unlimited potentional, headed in the right direction. It will take ten years to undo the damage, even if the nightmare ended tomorrow. The upside is that the inevitable pain we will feel in fuel costs will finally and fundamentally change the metrics of Railroad Electrification in this country.
Things will still move by rail truck or ship or a combination of the three. In the 70s when gas started going up in cost people thought it was the end of the world. Now 30 plus years later same conversations just with different figures. My kids cant imagine gas at 32 cents per gallon like when i started driving. Its almost to the point where we can all shake our fists in the air but God only knows what the answer is.
Actual phone conversation with a trucking CEO this morning:
ceo: ed, how are you?
ed: great
ceo: do you know the reason you feel great?
ed: A good night’s sleep?
ceo: no, it is because you left the trucking industry in 1990.
He then basically went on with the same conversation as what has occured on this post. He is hauling freight for the same rates as in 1980. Costs are thru the roof. Fuel surcharges help, if you can get them, driver turnover is out of control and now with the economic slowdown Mr. Shipper is beating them up over rates.
Years ago, he started an LTL company in addition to the TL operation. At the time I asked “Michael, why in the world do you want to expand your trucking operation.” He never lets me forget that I asked him that question. He thinks I am a brilliant man for that one comment made in 1992.
Point number 2…wind farms are springing up. Yesterday I saw one with about 50 windmills south of I80 between Peru and Princeton. How economical are these?
Point number 3…minor correction (actually major correction) XOM (Exxon Mobile) revenue last year was $404 billion with net income at 40.6 billion. The previous poster indicated their profit was $360 billion.
Point number 4…if you have a chance, read the editorial in March 4th Wall STreet Journal about Peak Oil. The author (name escapes me) indicates we have 50-60 years to go before reaching Peak oil level (when half of the oil has been depleted). We in the US have long ago reached Peak oil (1970). Technology and the high oil prices will result in higher production. It is a very interesting article and commentary. What is frightening is that his estimate is that 90% of oil reserves are state controlled. So, we must get used to Mr. Chavez and others.
Point number 5…anyone here seen the movie The Kingdom?
Economical to the developer after the multitude of tax breaks.
The wind farm you’re referring to Ed is going up in phases, on phase 2 of 3 I believe. Approaching 100 turbines. They’re springing up everywhere in this area…6 farms altogether in a 25 mile radius, with 50+ a piece.
There are also a half-dozen ethanol plants either under construction or planned within this same area…
Good customers pay a fuel surcharge and a rate commensurate to the service provided. I simply won’t take freight that doesn’t cover my cost along with an acceptable profit margin.
About trucking losing market share to rail…given that most shippers/receivers do not have direct rail access and that most loads are short hop overnight moves I don’t see that happening.
Costs go up then so does the rate…that’s how it is supposed to work.