Archive for the ‘fuel costs crisis’ Category

FUEL COST CRISIS * USA - Truckers fight to survive amid diesel fuel rise

posted by admin on Jun 12

Dothan,AL,USA -The Dothan Eagle, by Matt Elofson -June 9, 2008: -- The rise in the price of diesel fuel has cost Walt Bosma a few steak dinners, and left him scrambling to find ways to save and cut costs as he drives his tractor trailer across the country... Bosma, 62, of Michigan, stopped for a break in his 300 mile trucking route Monday at a Kangaroo convenience store in Dothan. Bosma planned to stay overnight in the sleeper unit of his truck, which is powered by a diesel generator... Bosma said his fuel costs have more than doubled per week over the past year, jumping from about $1,500 a week to $2,500 to $3,000 per week in 2008. By the July 4 holiday Bosma said he expects average costs to reach between $5 and $5.50 per gallon... Jim Franklin, the Chief Financial Officer for AMX trucking out of Ashford, agreed with Bosma... The rise in the cost of diesel could cause some smaller carriers to go out of business, Franklin said... Franklin said the fuel crunch has led the company, which includes a fleet of about 250 trucks, to reach special deals with some of the larger truck stops on fuel prices. The company has also tried to keep their drivers from straying from trucking routes. They also use special computer software to generate the best travel routes... (Photo by Danny Tindell - Walt Bosma with Eagle Express Trucking talks about how the high price of diesel fuel is affecting the trucking business)


* Freight Brokering Site Touts Benefits of Freight Trains amid Trucker Protests

Carlsbad,CA,USA -PRWEB -June 11, 2008 -- FreightBrokering.info, a Web site that offers information about the freight brokering industry, is publicizing the advantages of freight trains amid protests over rising fuel costs in the global trucking industry... It is a tough time for the freight brokering industry, but the team at FreightBrokering.info sees this as a time for freight brokers to make a shift in thinking. With the rising cost of fuel across the planet, freight trains are presenting an attractive alternative to trucks. Freight trains are highly economic under the right circumstances, and also more energy efficient than transporting freight by road. This method of shipment is most cost-effective when freight is being carried in bulk and over long distances...


* Truck Gas Costs Passed Onto Consumers

Baltimore,Maryland -WJZ, by Kelly McPherson -11 June 2008: -- While drivers are concerned with $4 a gallon for gasoline, everyone may want to pay attention to the diesel prices, too. Some truckers are paying $5 for diesel, and that price is affecting everyone else... Kelly McPherson reports how the jump in diesel will cost us all more... The people who transport just about everything, from food to furniture, are filling up on diesel. It's a fuel that used to be cheaper than gas, but now it's putting a strain on trucking companies who have no other choice than to pass along the cost to us... Taking home salmon is going to cost more. Fresh seafood gets to the store by truck. The cost of delivery is going up as diesel fuels flirt with $5 a gallon... (Photo CBS - The cost of delivery is going up as diesel fuels flirt with $5 a gallon)
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Protesting the High Cost of Fuel * USA - Truckers on the Move

posted by admin on Jun 7

New Jersey, Washington D.C., New York, Maine and other areas have seen trucker slowdowns, shut downs, horn-blaring convoys, marches and other acts of resistance

Seattle,WA,USA -Socialist Alternative, by Jeff Booth -Jun 5, 2008: -- Recent trucker protests are another sign of deepening economic crisis. $4 a gallon and more for diesel fuel sparked a wave of long-haul truckers’ protests beginning in April and still continuing... Most long-haul truckers are now “owner-operators”. They “own” (most are paying off a loan) a big rig, while also paying for fuel, tolls, repairs, insurance and other expenses and contracting out their services to big companies or “brokers” to deliver goods... Owner-operators are forced to compete with each other in a constant race to the bottom -to deliver at the lowest price in order to get work. As a result, they have low profit margins and like most small businesses, many go under. For the last twenty years, many truckers suffered dearly for any cost savings with mass layoffs, union-busting, and more stressful and dangerous working conditions... The owner-operators should link with the Teamsters and other unions to demand an end to deregulation of the industry, for a living wage, union rights, and a united struggle against the giant oil companies... High fuel prices are mostly the result of monopolization, speculation, lack of planning and just plain greed of the big oil companies. These companies are making colossal profits, and their executives and big shareholders are completely unaccountable... Tags: , ,

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FUEL COST * UK - British PM Warns of Global Oil “Shock”

posted by admin on Jun 2

As Fuel Price Protests Spread

London,UK -Agence France Presse/Trouthout -29 May 2008: -- British Prime Minister Gordon Brown warned Wednesday that the world faced an era-defining oil "shock" that required urgent action, as European leaders argued how best to contain protests over soaring fuel prices... "It is now understood that a global shock on this scale requires global solutions," Brown wrote in The Guardian newspaper... Record oil prices of around 135 dollars a barrel have contributed to protests worldwide over the rise in fuel and food costs, with fishermen and truck drivers taking the lead in Europe, blocking ports and road access to oil depots... Brown's warning came a day after French President Nicolas Sarkozy urged a Europe-wide cut in consumer taxes on fuel... French consumers pay about 19.6 percent VAT on the price of fuel and Sarkozy renewed his reduction proposal on Wednesday during a visit to Warsaw... But Austrian Finance Minister Wilhelm Molterer gave the idea short shrift... Portugal's economy minister Manuel Pinho called on Slovenia, as current head of the European Union, to hold an emergency debate on the crisis, but Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa said it would have to wait for the scheduled EU summit next month... In Bulgaria, where annual monthly salaries are among the lowest in the EU and inflation rates among the highest, around 150 trucks drove slowly along capital Sofia's ring road, disrupting traffic. Bulgarian bus companies were preparing to launch a nationwide one-hour strike on Friday... In Spain, the main trucking union has called for an indefinite strike beginning June 8... "Short-term solutions are the most popular in political terms, but they have no lasting effect," said Portuguese Agriculture Minister Jaime Silva... (Photo: AFP / Marcel MochetA fisherman pours oil on the pavement in front of French police during a protest in western France against high fuel costs. European leaders are struggling to defuse growing anger over soaring fuel prices, as fisherman and truck drivers staged protests in several countries, with more strikes planned in coming days) Tags: ,

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FUEL COST CRISIS * USA - Diesel costs are soaring, trucking companies are suffering

posted by admin on May 21

Madison,WI,USA -WKOW/TV -21 May 2008: -- This is what it's come down too for Schultz Trucking and Excavation, a small company based in Stoughton. President Jason Schultz is paying his workers to stay close to home to cut down trees. "So to keep the guys busy, so they can feed their families, we've got the guys out here so they can work on some thing that the boss has gotten behind on," said Schultz on Monday... It's all because, in today's state of the economy, fewer people are asking for his service. And given the cost of diesel these days, it's going to be tough for Schultz to provide the service anyway... AAA said diesel in Wisconsin is at an all-time high of $4.52/gallon... Tags:

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