Independent Truckers Being Run Over by Fuel Prices
March 3, 2008 | 9:36 am | by t-blender |Rate It:
msnbc: Trucker Robert Griffith is on the road three weeks out of four, pulling oversize loads like crane booms, railroad ties and air conditioning ducts. One of his biggest worries: How he’ll find the money to buy his daughter a prom dress.
As the cost of diesel doubled over the last four years, his take-home pay has plummeted, from $50,000 to $11,000 last year. He’s literally burning money; he spent $64,000 on diesel in the last eight months. Since he canceled his satellite radio, he’s on citizens band radio constantly (handle: Instigator) talking about what needs to change so truckers like him can survive.
Trucking’s owner-operators, the self-employed drivers who haul everything from Hummers to hay, are suffering. Many say they’re running on the edge of bankruptcy, about to disappear unless they get help. While a wave of trucking failures now might be invisible to consumers, when the economy rebounds, it would push up shipping rates, helping increase prices.
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