Trucker on diesel prices: 'We're going to have a lot of bankruptcies'

Yahoo News ^ | March 30, 2022 | By Ines Ferré

[Oldeconomybuyer]

Independent trucker Michael Whitaker is getting ready for his next haul of equipment from South Carolina to Arizona. Whitaker has been an owner-operator trucker since 1998. His specialty is hauling industrial machinery like construction and farming equipment.

"The diesel prices. That’s every truck driver's main expense, it's diesel," says Whitaker of the recent rise in diesel prices.

Whitaker says at the beginning of the year it cost $600 or $700 to fill up his truck tank. Now, he's paying about $1,000.

"You notice it into your pocket, oh yes," says the Iowa-based trucker.

The price of diesel has skyrocketed since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war. Diesel averages hit their highest level since 1994 in mid-March.

Whitaker says he used to charge around $5/mile on certain routes. Now he's charging between $7-9 per mile. He also uses a discount fuel card, and app which identifies the most economical stations where he can fill up on his routes.

As of last Monday, the cost of diesel was $1.94 higher than it was a year ago "which is significant," said Spencer.

"For our guys, the majority of truckers will burn between 18,000-20,000 gallons of fuel a year. So looking at those costs, you're talking about $90,000-$105,000 a year just on fuel," he added.

[4Liberty]

[Alberta's Child]

There are about 3.5 million truck drivers in the U.S. today. That number has barely changed since the 1980s even though the nation's population has grown by 100 million people.

If the industry was as “cut throat” as you say, the driver quoted in this article would never be able to charge $9 per mile for a load.

[Gritty]

you're talking about $90,000-$105,000 a year just on fuel

Imagine all the money they would save and the carbon footprints they would shrink if they just bought battery powered trucks instead of these gas guzzlers!

Or maybe they could also just learn to code?

[winterystorm]

Please keep green away from the Truckers. They will never go for it.
And many are old timers. If you want them to walk away fine.
Enjoy having nothing on your store shelves.

You sound like a lefty who has little knowledge of the field.

There are huge cost to own your own big rig.Insurance ,maintenance,parts.

This electric crap needs to go in the rabbit hole with the climate idiots.

[minnesota_bound]

I have watched a few of these trucker videos. He uses apps to bid for jobs. He recently mentioned the cost of fuel was similar as the article said from $600 to over $900 for his personal truck and trailer.

JustTruckin
https://www.youtube.com/user/azcat8899/videos

I found his several videos on rebuilding his engine interesting. The people doing the work make it look easy.

Rebuilding A Kenworth W900 550 HP CUMMINS ISX !! Day #1 in the books Huge Thanks to Haggai Diesel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWqoiRQos_s

[Gritty]

You sound like a lefty who has little knowledge of the field.

Oops. I forgot to add the /s/ tag. Sorry.

[unlearner]

“Just like more rules on farmers led to large corporations buying up small farmers, the same thing could happen here. The independent truckers will go belly up and bought out. Corporate trucking will work out a bribe and deal with Congress so they can take over”

Less than 10% of truck drivers are owners. Even if there was consolidation, the trucks still require qualified drivers. There is already a driver shortage. Lots of big companies, like FedEx, UPS, Amazon, etc. own fleets. I don’t see consolidation being likely.

[Myrddin]

Or maybe they could also just learn to code?

Sure. That's how I've made my living for the last 40 years. 20 different operating systems. 50 languages. A broad range of disciplines (scientific, embedded, DSP, enterprise servers, air-gapped servers, cryptography, security). This week I'm converting 20 year old Java enterprise server code to function as a microservice inside a Docker container that is deployed in a Kubernetes cluster from a customer "cloud". Moving the Java ahead from JDK8 to JDK11, swatting all the security issues that have emerged over 20 years. Converting the old REST services to operate in a Spring Boot framework. It just what every truck driver wants to do.