[thackney]

Congress, believing in and/or profiting from an Al Gore-inspired global warming hoax, can only come up with such solutions as biodiesel, ethanol and other technology that does absolutely nothing in the short term. For years, they have grabbed their ankles and bent over for militant environmentalists, refusing drilling in ANWR and other domestic locations. Their appeasement has given us a dangerous dependency on foreign oil, giving terrorist-supporting countries a measure of control over the U.S. economy that will have disastrous consequences. With every barrel of oil we buy from the Middle East and Venezuela, we fill the coffers of those very countries who are giving arms to the Islamic enemy I faced while driving a truck in Iraq. All the while, the lunatic, progressive Left still will try to convince you the war in Iraq was “fought for oil.”

Bump

[Flavius]

mexican truckers make fraction of pay

thus leaving planty of cash for gas

yay

[Oldexpat]

The free market will shortly work. It is hard for a trucker with a loan on it to stop work, but enough will be forced to that rates will go up to match fuel, labor and depreciation on their vehicles. Major companies won’t work at a loss..owner operators will either fail or will get higher rates.

[milwguy]

Maybe the truckers can get the country to realize we need to develop our own resouces, like ANWR, Chuchki and Barents Sea, Gulf waters, Federal Land, etc. The ethanol whores, the marxist,socialist, enviorwackos need to be pushed out of the way.

Damn Sen Boxer is agitating to get the polar bears on the endangered species list ONLY to stop drilling inthe CHUChKI Sea. she has as muchas admitted that. The envirowacko left wants to put off limits anywhere our oil is, because the HATE America. That is the bootom line. Global Warming is just the latest scam they have invented to strangle our economy. It is not about saving the planet, it is about destroying the US.

[griswold3]

That ‘jingle mail’ ain’t just for house keys. The truckers are doing it too.
This is a difficult business which you simply cannot ‘pass on your costs’ because there is always someone else that will do it for nothing. At least for a while.

[Elpasser]

I suppose that when enough independents park their trucks, those remaining will be able to demand price increases. Then the independents on the sidelines can step back in and the situation can rationalize.

Painful in the interim, I know, but markets can be messy in the short-term.

[mountainlion]

Demorats want to add $.50 per gallon and put the rest of the independents out of business.

[jetson]

I smell revolution in the air.

[G.Mason]

" ... Will 2008 see a repeat of the 1970s, when the striking union truckers shut down factories and nearly brought the nation to its knees? ..."

That & more.

Price of goods & services are going sky high, as we speak.

What happens when the store shelves are empty, and, or you can't afford those products needed for daily living?

I've got an idea ... why don't we become cannibals & eat our elected officials?

[knarf]

"As truckers struggle with less-than-minimum wages, the concern in Washington is for ensuring illegal aliens have free health care, free schooling and decent working conditions. Yet Congress ignores the company driver who works 70 hours per week, unable to take time at home because, as fuel increases, his company is cutting back on loads. He is driving less, his “off time” taken in some far away city away from his family."

I started reading the article and copied a piece I wanted to highlight and comment on ... as I read further, there were more apropos bits I wanted to highlight and comment on ... and further still ... the entire peice is worthy of highlighting.

I was layed off Nov. 30 by a mom n' pop pulling hot, liquid asphalt. My boss had kept me going from Oct in a dump trailer after the paving season ended, but by November, he couldn't keep me (one of the last hires) and a few other guys.

I'm 60 years old, and my plan was to work until 65 and retire with full SS ... but now, ..... I don't know if I can get back in.

I'm not an O/O, so I can't go out and hustle for myself ... there are a lot more younger guys out there an employer is more willing to invest in than a guy approaching retirement.

I'm worried about the next two years,

If fuel doesn't come down, I'm afraid to think about what I will do. I don't want an early retirement at 62 and I don't want to be a greeter in Wal Mart .. although it may be reasonable money (compared to the long hours mentioned in the article, and I've experienced driving) and the 'work' isn't physically debilitating.

Still young enough to work, sore enough to not be a roofer, old enough to be passed over and scared enough to want to do anything (I'm able) to pay bills and live my August years comfortably.

[DungeonMaster]

If the American Trucker Fails, So Will the Nation

I know union speak when I hear it. My dad is one of the most pro union people there is.

[dragnet2]

Truckers are getting screwed...Their pay is crap, the job sucks, you can’t have a home life, and now their insurance and fuel costs, fees and government regulations have all but killed them off. Most those left are hanging by their finger tips.

[D-fendr]

Transportation has been in a slump for a while, there’s just less business for them.

Truckers who charge customers a fuel surcharge make this author’s point moot. Customers who don’t pay a surcharge, or reasonable compensation shouldn’t soon have truckers who’ll work for free.

This “strike” thing makes no sense. Why hurt truckers who work for companies that are surviving in this market? And who are the independents striking against and what precisely are their demands?

[Alberta's Child]

Very interesting.

I'm the first to sympathize with independent truckers in most cases, but let's keep this whole thing in perspective. What's really affecting the trucking industry more than anything else is not so much the high price of fuel, but the fact that they operate in a largely deregulated industry where more and more players are competing on a highway system that is outside their control (and financed heavily by taxpayers, I might add).

I don't know what the answer is, but I do suggest that fuel surcharges should be implemented as a matter of course these days by any trucker who wants to stay in business.

[Xenalyte]

Trucker ping.

[mysterio]

What will happen is that this will put the independents out of business, leaving only the massive trucking corporations. The massive corporations will then pass the cost on to consumers.

[modican]

If the American Trucker Fails, So Will the Nation

Sorry, not going to happen. Now you know what NAFTA, the Super highway and the Mexican Trucker have in common. It can be activated overnight.
It's a long plan in the making.

[Clemenza]

On a related subject, how much business have the railroads taken away from truckers since double-stacked rail cars were introduced?

[wtc911]

From the article....

"Will 2008 see a repeat of the 1970s, when the striking union truckers shut down factories and nearly brought the nation to its knees? Without the organization of the labor unions, it will be a daunting task, but it is not beyond the realm of possibility."

_______________________________________________________

Sounds like a threat from the union.