The cost of doing business seems to be on the rise again. As truckers nationwide
slowly see some freight rates improving, the other end of the expense chain
seems to offset that rise and take away any chance of breaking even.
"Many drivers are hanging on" says Jim Hudson from jimthetrucker.com.
Depending on what type of freight that a carrier hauls, the rate to fuel price
ratio may be slim. Cheap freight seems to be the norm for a nation in the
midst of an economic crisis. With a smaller profit margin, a carrier or owner
operator must be vigilant in watching for out of route miles. The price of
mistakes is overrun in cost per mile to move the freight.
"Driving truck used to be a job that a person could always fall back on in
tough times" says Jim Hudson of jimthetrucker.com . This industry has
always been full of rugged individualists who have worked through the
hard times and came out on top. This economic firestorm will be no different,
the American Trucker will prevail. While fuel prices rise, so does the fuel
surcharge that gets tacked on to a bill of lading and agreed upon in the terms.
This offsets some of the fuel costs that drivers and companies are faced
with every day.
Fuel is the leading cost for trucking and goods transportation in the nation.
There are many factors in this cost rise, from speculators to so called supply
and demand. Just about everything a person uses in daily life has at one time
been carried by a truck. With diesel fuel rising again, truckers are taking steps
to avoid extra costs. The last time fuel rose to $5.00 a gallon and higher, many
truckers added generators to avoid idling the truck, This has been a great
savings to many, but adds to the overall maintenance cost for another engine
to take care of.
An idling truck uses about a gallon per hour to keep the driver warm or cool.
The generator uses a fraction of that amount. The driver risks a lot if they
cannot stay reasonably comfortable, temperatures that rise or fall away from
healthy levels, can and have been a risk. The cost of one of these generators
is about $7000.00, still, having one to avoid idling the truck saves thousands
of dollars a year and a lot of extra emissions. Truck driver health is the number
one priority, but saving on the ever rising cost of diesel fuel is healthy for the
wallet and our economy.
Driving Truck
http://www.jimthetrucker.com/
