Truckers feel the pinch from high prices

[Jubilee21]

Not a shock to read, but none the less am sorry to see this happening so fast...my heart goes out to the truckers trying to cope with this.:ohno


http://www.wstm.com/news/news_story.aspx?id=137838
SYRACUSE -- At the Pilot Truck Stop on 7th North Street in Syracuse, the price of a gallon of diesel has hit five dollars. Truck drivers like Tony DeRose say each day is tougher to keep their rigs on the road. "It's going to be a trickle down effect within the next two to three weeks you're going to see things go up in the supermarkets. When is it going to stop?" says DeRose.

From their national headquarters in Baldwinsville, Gypsum Express runs 550 trucks from eight terminals east of the Mississippi. Because of the price of fuel, Gypsum is no longer taking on new freight customers. Last year, the company's April fuel bill was 1.6 million dollars. The April '08 bill was 2.5 million.
Jenkins says within the next 90 days, the five dollar price for diesel will be felt at the consumer level in the form of higher prices for just about every consumer item that travels by truck.



:groan




This is not good....

[Tammy]

Everything is going up because of this. I started back to using coupons in Oct. and I am spending less but getting more. I went food shopping again yesterday and that was just to stock up on things before they go up anymore. My total was 191.78 and I paid 91.17. Also with all the gas points that I earn this week with stocking up I will be getting 3.10 off the next time I get gas.

[christianmom]

My husband is a trucker and we are abundantly blessed. I praise the Lord for that. :)

[stonewallfan]

My husband is a trucker and we are abundantly blessed. I praise the Lord for that. :)

Tell him thank you from my family to your! I have alot of respect for them I understand the value of what they do for our economy and I believe they are some of the safest drivers on the highway.

[christianmom]

Tell him thank you from my family to your! I have alot of respect for them I understand the value of what they do for our economy and I believe they are some of the safest drivers on the highway.

Most certainly will do that. We bought a truck for him over a year ago and he's leased on to a company that does dedicated hauls for Wal-Mart and Sams. His fuel is through their distribution centers, a little bit cheaper, but he also gets a fuel surcharge. I praise the Lord for His blessings and if it weren't for God's mercy on us we would be in the same predicament that so many others are in at the moment with the economy and gas prices being what they are.

We are definitely blessed! Praise the good Lord :bow

[Goldie]

Praying that God makes a way for those people to support their loved ones and themselves.

:pray :pray :pray

[Chariots]

With diesel between $4.52 - $4.72 my dad is spending close to $2000.00 per week hauling back and forth from St. Louis to Dallas. They went up on their freight charges in January and will have to go up again when diesel hits $5.00/gallon.

Another friend of mine is in the Recovery/Repo business. His business is up because people are letting the banks have the vehicle back instead of making payments. He said 7 Semi Trucks were reposessed in the last 30 days. The owners called him and told him where to pick the truck up. They weren't even driving them since fuel costs have gotton so high. Not one owner was upset. Wait until these losses start hitting the banks financials.

[christianmom]

I think a lot of the truckers are in a bind because they went and bought a big fancy truck with payments as high as a mortgage payment and at the first time of trouble weren't able to make those payments. My husband's truck hauls the same exact freight that a fancy, new and expensive rig does but his payments are minimal because it is an older model.

We also live within our means. Other trucker families that we know purchased big fancy homes because they thought times would always be good and their income was so high. Some bought luxury cars and SUVs. God has definitely blessed us. :)

[KBKMNN]

I've got a couple of questions since I am trucker illiterate. :aha How many gallons does the average 18 wheeler truck hold? I was thinking maybe 150, but I dunno. :idunno I'm clueless.
And also, how far can one go on a tank of gas, say if you were on basically smooth roads, not mountains (I know that would lessen the mpg's alot). 'K, think I'm done asking questions. :hehee

[christianmom]

My husband's rig holds 200 gallons and it gets 6 mpg....if you multiply those two numbers you get your answer. Of course, it also depends on how heavy the load is. Sometimes he'll get a load of Ozarka water from the plant and deliver it to several stores. That is a very heavy load. Other times he does dry runs (not reefer) and he gets more miles per gallon due to the lighter load. He mostly pulls a reefer and mostly frozen or meat products.