Can’t keep on truckin’

By JERIANNE STRANGE
Glasgow Daily Times

GLASGOW June 09, 2008 04:28 pm

— The high cost of diesel fuel is chipping away at David Oberhausen’s ability to earn a living.
The Cave City truck driver has parked one of his two rigs and put a “For Sale” sign on the windshield.
The high price of regular gasoline usually gets all the attention, but the price of diesel has been steadily climbing. Locally, diesel is just a breath away from $4.50 a gallon. Across the country diesel is at record-high prices.
“No one in the trucking industry right now is having an easy time of it,” Oberhausen, 40, said. “It’s killing everybody.”
For Oberhausen and other owner-operators, the cost of fuel can make or break them.
Todd Spencer, executive vice president of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association in Grain Valley, Mo., estimates as much as 10 percent of the association’s 161,293 members have parked their trucks.
“Right now they are likely spending $70,000 to $100,000 a year just for fuel,” Spencer said. “We are talking about losing half of their net income for the year. They simply cannot survive.”
When diesel passed $4 a gallon and stayed there, Oberhausen parked his second rig and had to let the driver go. “The truck wasn’t making enough money to pay him and the diesel too,” he said.
The green 2003 Kenworth T2000 now sits idle, yet Oberhausen still must make the payments and carry insurance on it.
“What I’ve spent on fuel the first five months of this year would have paid off one of my trucks,” he said. “What I’ve spent so far this year is what I spent all year two years ago.”
His tractor-trailer averages 5 to 6 miles per gallon and, at current prices, it costs more than $1,000 to fill the empty tanks. That’s too much for many truckers to keep hauling goods.
The ramifications go beyond the trucking industry. With most of the country’s goods transported by truck, fewer drivers could lead to strained supplies, while higher fuel costs are being passed along to consumers who are already paying more for food and other items.
Until a few years ago, diesel fuel – a byproduct of petroleum – was generally less expensive than regular gas. But government mandates to make diesel fuel cleaner and higher oil prices have steadily pushed up the price of diesel. The higher costs, coupled with a slowing economy, have been hard on the entire trucking industry, but especially so on small companies and independent drivers.
And it doesn’t look as if there is going to be price relief any time soon, said Tom Crosby, an American Automobile Association spokesman.
Crosby said that the nation’s already strained oil supply has been worsened by a temporary refinery shutdown in Texas and minor glitches at other production sites
Add to that the rising cost of a barrel of oil – light, sweet crude shot up nearly $11 a barrel Friday and approached $140 for the first time – and it’s clear things are getting worse.
“I expect to see diesel well over $5 a gallon this week,” Oberhausen said.
He said he also expects to see more owner-operators parking their rigs.
For those still out on the road, change is inevitable, he said.
“Everyone’s changing their driving habits,” he said. “Everyone’s slowing down. I run at 62 (miles per hour). That’s where I get my best fuel mileage.”
The weak economy isn’t helping truckers, either.
With the downturn in the housing market, there are fewer construction supplies being shipped and consumers are starting to put the brakes on spending, which means less cargo to move.
Oberhausen said the cost of doing business has invaded his home life as well.
“I used to take the family out to eat twice a month,” he said. “We don’t do that anymore. We can’t afford it.”
He’s also thinking about what might come next with diesel prices and the rig he’s still running.
“If it gets much higher, I’m going to park this one too,” he said. “I may just come off the road. When I can’t make a payment on it, I’ll park it.”
The Associated Press contributed to this story.

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