This fuel price is getting ridiculous. Diesel in our town is 3.89. We pay for it at the pump, then pay for it again in the grocery store and every other business.If they want to solve the housing crisis and the lagging economy just get the fuel prices down.
WND BLACK-GOLD BLUES
Independent Truckers Planning Shutdown
They want Washington to address rising fuel costs
Posted: March 28, 2008
10:00 pm Eastern
Crude oil is running $100 a barrel and it costs $50 instead of $35 to fill your car, but you carpool occasionally and watch the number of trips across town so you're doing all right so far. But what happens when, in addition to the $50 fillup, your groceries go from $80 to $120 and you hunt for new jeans but the shelves don't even have your size?
That's the very real possibility that is triggering an unofficial nationwide call for a shutdown by thousands of independent truck operators who deliver those supplies – all sparked by the rising costs of fuel.
One website already explains about 18,000 trucks have been committed to the shutdown starting April 1, and whether it goes for a day or a week, they are hoping that their actions will get the attention of officials who, they demand, must do something to help.
The Washington Post reports Lee Klass, hauling 41,000 pounds of hairspray from Florida to Quebec, stopped in North Carolina to refill fuel tanks, and paid $960. Diesel prices, he told the paper, "are terrible, and they're not getting any better."
Auto clubs that monitor prices say diesel has gone up more than 50 cents a gallon in barely two months, and has been setting records almost daily. The nationwide average on one recent day was $3.87 a gallon.
(Story continues below)
The newspaper warned fuel price hikes, especially trucks, have the potential to disrupt the Federal Reserve's plan to contain inflation while creating growth with low interest rates, combined with the money giveaway program approved by Congress.
That's because trucking claims 70 percent of U.S. freight transportation, from the cars you drive to work to the milk your children drink.
Tiffany Wlazlowski of the American Trucking Association told the Santa Maria Times projections are for trucking industry fuel costs in 2008 to reach $135 billion, up $22 billion in just one year.
Her organization and the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association both are calling on Congress and the Bush administration to address those skyrocketing figures.
The OOIDA has warned in a news release that consumers should not be blaming truckers for the rising costs of goods.
"Often shippers pay higher amounts for shipping when fuel prices are high, but that money doesn't always trickle down to the person actually paying for the fuel," the group said."
OOIDA spokesman Todd Spencer called the jump in fuel costs "a heart attack in the system."
"Lawmakers need to know what's going on in trucking, how devastating this record hike in fuel prices is for 90 percent of the nation's fleet," he said.
He said the association is aware of the call for an April 1 shutdown, but it does not participate in such movements because it is a trade association, not a union.
On the Topix.com forum for truckers, "goingunder" pulled no punches in explaining what's to happen.
"The date for the shutdown is April 1st thru April 6th …. nationwide, get the word out … tell every driver you know and then some … talk about it in the truck stops, yell it out on the radio … e-mail everyone that has an e-mail address," the driver said.
"This strike is world wide now, not only are we striking but drivers from other countires are doing it as well, as we are all striking for the same reasons. We are already backed into a corner, and we have ran (sic) out of options," added Gator 714.
"I think we can make an impact," added Flatbed Pete. "For the ones who say it won't work, you are probably on your way out of business anyhow. It is time we take a stand. Without us even for a short time will hurt everyone. Then maybe we can get the whole country back on track."
How could a shutdown affect individual consumers? Just remember that your average discount store or grocery will be served my multiple truckloads of goods every day. No trucks backing up to the docks means no new consumer goods on the shelves.
At the Truth About Cars, this announcement was made: "There is a confirmed shutdown in the works for April 1st."
Several of the blogs and forums point to Dan Little at US Cattlehaulers as a leader. On his website he reports having heard from more than 400 trucking companies who have agreed to "shut down or go broke."
"The government will hear us only if we stand united," he suggested. He noted he'd gotten calls from Sen. Hillary Clinton's office "checking in on our thoughts on the fuel costs and trucking issues."
Although he's not in control of the overall situation, "please note, I do fully support this upcoming shutdown and will personally shut my trucking co. down on April 1," he said. "I am not the leader in this action but I have recv. calls from the AP, Senator Clintons office, and several others…"
The OOIDA reported "hundreds" of calls from truckers concerned about fuel prices.
"Even back in the 1970s, when we saw nearly 100 percent of truckers participating in strikes, it did not lower fuel prices," said Jim Johnston, OOIDA's president. "Short-term relief from the situation then was the result of a temporary implementation of a mandatory fuel surcharge."
That cannot be replicated today because rates no longer are regulated, he said.
One plan being pursued by OOIDA is to require disclosure of fuel surcharges on freight transactions and a 100 percent pass-through to those who are paying for fuel.
The association also has petitioned the government to stop diverting oil supplies to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and instead allow it directly into the marketplace.
Little reports his business has gone from a dozen trucks to one because of fuel prices.
He told "Land Line Now" on XM Satellite Radio, "I'm calling for a one-day shutdown to get the attention of our leaders that we elected and sent to Washington to represent us…"
One version of a widely circulated e-mail, unsigned, calls for rigs to be parked from April 1-5.
"Others who participate in this event will still be operating on our nation's highways at a maximum speech of 45 mph," it continues. "Until the price of diesel is reduced to a rate of $2.00 on average, our country will remain in a recession. These drivers also believe that the more they charge manufacturers to transport products, the more strain is placed on our overall economy."
The e-mail said it is not a "strike" or an attempt to organize a union, and drivers will not violate any laws.
"This protest is to make the general public aware that, the recession we are in, has been caused by high energy prices," it said.
Little posted a note that immediate relief could be obtained by having the government suspend federal and state fuel taxes "until such time that this economy is bck on its feet."
He reported that several truckers in Georgia already have launched their action.
"They said they could not hold out till April 1," he said.
U.S. truckers already have watched their job security under attack by government efforts to open U.S. roads to Mexican trucking companies and their drivers.
A silver dollar is like .77 of an oZ so an old silver dollar was worth about $1.29 an oz when in circulation,
I well remember paying 25 cents a gallon, so one oz of silver got 5 gallons.
Now gas is $3.25 and silver is $18 an oz.
So you get 5.4 gallons.
Fuel is cheaper now than 30 years ago in real money. It is the fiat phony federal reserve notes that are becoming worthless, not the stuff getting more expensive!
Fred, that may well be true, the worth of gold in relation to the price of fuel. But looking at the total economic scene today, there is something very wrong with this picture. The pay scale for labor falls far short of the continual cost of living increase. I remember working for 8-10 dollars 20 years ago and there are still many people working for those kind of wages. Can you explain this(or anyone)and what can be done about it?
Well, we are working on the cold winter problem. We're all driving SUV's and big trucks, idling them for hours and burning up as much of the ozone as we can.
Some refineries are loosing money lately on every gallon of gas they make because the raw crude price, the cost to refine the crude, and the cost of transportation is more than the market is paying for gas.
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As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit–just as it has taught you, remain in him. I John 2:27
Although the price of silver might make the price of fuel not look so bad, yet has not fuel increased much more than other things. I do not think wages and people's income doubled like the price of fuel. I wonder if the fuel price is not going to have many effects on our economy and lives, but maybe it will be good for us.
Fuel needs to go up in price until we face the reality of the aftershocks of post-peak oil panic. The actual value of a gallon of fuel is worth far more than what we are paying for it. People need to wake up and realize that when it is gone, it has no replacement, and since our entire society is built on the premise of cheap energy, the adjustment will be overwhelming. The best thing to do for the people is tax the fuel until we stop driving our SUV and use the tax money to develop alternate infrastructure and technologies.
Why trust government to solve our energy problems? Haven't they become a big part of the problem by preventing us from drilling for our own oil, building refineries and nuclear power plants etc.?
Just my thought here...but regarding additional taxation as an incentive to conserve...isn't the poor guy in his rusty jalopy by going to get hurt a lot quicker than the guy tooling down the road in his Hummer?
As gasoline nears $4 a gallon, Congress has questions about Big Oil's big profits
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
WASHINGTON - Top executives of the five biggest U.S. oil companies were pressed Tuesday to explain the soaring fuel prices amid huge industry profits and why they weren't investing more to develop renewable energy source such as wind and solar.
The executives, peppered with questions from skeptical lawmakers, said they understood that high energy costs are hurting consumers, but deflected blame, arguing that their profits - $123 billion last year - were in line with other industries.
"On April Fool's Day, the biggest joke of all is being played on American families by Big Oil," Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., said as his committee began hearing from the oil company executives.
With motorists paying a national average of $3.29 a gallon at the pump and global oil prices remaining above $100 a barrel, the executives were hard pressed by lawmakers to defend their profits.
"The anger level is rising significantly," said Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Mo., relating what he had heard in his district during the recent two-week congressional recess.
Alluding to the fact that congressmen often don't rate very high in opinion polls, Cleaver told the executives: "Your approval rating is lower than ours and that means your down low."
"I heard what you are hearing. Americans are very worried about the rising price of energy," said John Hofmeister, president of Shell Oil Co., echoing remarks by the other four executives from Exxon Mobil Corp., BP America Inc., Chevron Corp., and ConocoPhillips.
But the executives rejected claims that their companies' earnings are out of step with other industries and said that while they earn tens of billions of dollars, they also invest tens of billions in exploration and oil production activities.
"Our earnings, though high in absolute terms, need to be viewed in the context of the scale and cyclical, long-term nature of our industry as well as the huge investment requirements," said J.S. Simon, Exxon Mobil's senior vice president.
But Markey asked Simon why Exxon Mobil hasn't followed the other companies in investing in alternative energy. The four other companies reported spending as much as $3.5 billion in recent years on solar, wind, biodiesel and other renewable projects.
"Why is Exxon Mobil resisting the renewable revolution," asked Markey.
Simon said his company, which earned $40 billion last year, had provided $100 million on research into climate change at Stanford University, but that current alternative energy technologies "just do not have an appreciable impact" in addressing "the challenge we're trying to meet."
Executives from the largest U.S oil companies have been frequent targets of lawmakers, frustrated at not being able to do much to counter soaring oil and gasoline costs.
In November, 2005, Hofmeister and the top executives of the same companies represented Tuesday sat in a Senate hearing room to explain high prices and their huge profits.
The prices are of concern, Hofmeister said at the time, adding a note of optimism: "Our industry is extremely cyclical and what goes up almost always comes down," he told the skeptical senators on a day when oil cost $60 a barrel.
About six months later, when the cost of the same barrel reached $75, the executives were grilled again on Capitol Hill on their spending and investment priorities.
Recently oil prices reached a peak of $111 a barrel. While declining a bit in recent days, the price remains above $100 and there's talk of $4 a gallon gasoline in the coming months.
Markey challenged the executives to pledge to invest 10 percent of their profits to develop renewable energy and give up $18 billion in tax breaks over 10 years so money could be funneled to support other energy and conservation.
The executives said the companies already are spending billions of dollars - more than $3.5 billion over the last five years - on renewable fuels such as wind energy and biodiesel, but rejected any tax increases.
"Imposing punitive taxes on American energy companies, which already pay record taxes, will discourage the sustained investment needed to continue safeguarding U.S. energy security," Simon insisted.
"These companies are defending billions of federal subsidies ... while reaping over a hundred billion dollars in profits in just the last year alone," complained Markey, chairman of the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming.
The House last year and again on Feb. 27 approved legislation that would have ended the tax breaks for the oil giants, while using the revenue to support wind, solar and other renewa
ble fuels and incentives for energy conservation. The measure has not passed the Senate.
While there is some truth to the fact that fuel has been somewhat undervalued in the past, tripling the cost of a gallon of gas in a relatively short period of time is disastrous for the poor and the economy as a whole. As recent as the summer of 1995 I remember paying .89 a gallon for regular unleaded. I would wager that the gas co. were probably losing money or breaking even at that time. Given the fact the the oil industry is a cyclical business and profits need to be realized for exploration etc, that can only go so far before it upsets the entire economic structure. I'm all for new technology for alternative fuels but biofuels is not the answer. I'd say the oil co. need to put their profits and tax incentives into more exploration and drilling until there is a viable energy source that will take the place of oil.
We pay for the extra cost of fuel again when we buy retail. All the retaurants I go to have raised their prices in the last several weeks. Milk price is up. I bought apples today for 2.24 lb.
This message has been edited by GMman1 on Apr 1, 2008 3:12 PM
(CBS/AP) Independent truckers around the country pulled their rigs off the road and others slowed to a crawl on major highways in a loosely organized protest of high fuel prices.
Some truckers, on CB radios and trucking Web sites, had called for a strike Tuesday to protest the high cost of diesel fuel, saying the action might pressure President Bush to stabilize prices by using the nation's oil reserves. But the protests were scattered because major trucking companies were not on board and there did not appear to be any central coordination.
On New Jersey's Turnpike, southbound rigs "as far as the eye can see" were moving at about 20 mph near Newark, said Turnpike Authority spokesman Joe Orlando. Other truckers had gathered at a service area near Newark chanting and protesting.
Outside Chicago, three truck drivers were ticketed for impeding traffic on Interstate 55, driving three abreast at low speeds, said Illinois State Police Master Sgt. Luis Gutierrez.
Near Florida's Port of Tampa, more than 50 tractor-trailer rigs sat idle as their drivers demanded that contractors pay them more to cover their fuel and other costs.
"We can no longer haul their stuff for what they're paying," said David Santiago, 35, a trucker for the past 17 years.
Santiago, like many of the more than 50 truckers gathered on a side street near the Port of Tampa, said he can't support his family on what he makes. "If it wasn't for my wife, we would have been bankrupt already," he said.
Some other truckers, however, didn't join the protests, saying they doubted a strike or mass demonstration would be effective because trucking companies are not on board and there is no central coordination.
"The oil company is the boss, what are we going to be able to do about it?" said Charles Rotenbarger, 49, a trucker from Columbus, Ohio, who was at a truck stop at Baldwin, Fla., about 20 miles west of Jacksonville. "The whole world economy is going to be controlled by the oil companies. There's nothing we can do about it."
Jimmy Lowry, 51, of St. Petersburg, Fla., and others said it costs about $1 a mile to drive one of the big rigs, although some companies are offering as little as 87 cents a mile. Diesel cost $4.03 a gallon at the Baldwin truck stop.
Gas prices may be sitting near record levels, but the owners of local gas stations are struggling.
Profit margins on gasoline sales are razor thin. Indeed, some gas stations are losing money on credit card sales, once the fees are factored in.
How do they stay in business? More and more a gas station's bread and butter is, well, bread and butter - and the coffee and candy bars it sells in its convenience store. Most of these items generate much higher profits than gas.
"Gasoline is a relatively low margin part of what we do," said Jay Ricker, president of Ricker Oil Co. in Anderson, Ind.
Increasingly, a station owner's biggest challenge is convincing drivers to step inside the store after they gas up.
"It's all about trying to sell other things," said Scott Hartman, president and chief executive of Rutter's Farm Stores, a York, Pa., company that owns and operates 51 gas stations.Continued
CBS/AP) Teamsters union officials said they had nothing to do with any kind of protests. An independent truck drivers group, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, said it also was not organizing anything. Federal law prohibits the association from calling for a strike because it is a trade association.
In Washington, meanwhile, top executives of the five biggest U.S. oil companies said Tuesday they know high fuel prices are hurting consumers but deflected any blame and argued their profits - $123 billion last year - were in line with other industries.
"The anger level is rising significantly," said Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, a Democrat, relating what he had heard in his district during the recent two-week congressional recess.
Alluding to the fact that congressmen often do not rate very high in opinion polls, Cleaver told the executives: "Your approval rating is lower than ours and that means you're down low."
"I heard what you are hearing. Americans are very worried about the rising price of energy," said John Hofmeister, president of Shell Oil Co., echoing remarks by the other four executives from Exxon Mobil Corp., BP America Inc., Chevron Corp., and ConocoPhillips.
Rather than joining the protests, some truckers were forced to sit idle because of shippers' fears of a possible strike.
In western Michigan, independent trucker William Gentry had been scheduled to pick up a load and take it to Boston, but his dispatcher told him there was a change of plans.
"She told me that her shipper was shutting down," fearing that someone would sabotage deliveries if their drivers worked during the protest, Gentry said at the Tulip City Truck Stop outside Holland, Mich.
He and Bob Sizemore, 55, a 30-year veteran trucker, decided to return to their homes in Ohio, 280-mile trips that would cost each one about $200 of their own money for fuel alone.
"We can't ride around here looking for freight," said Gentry, 47, a driver for 23 years.
If something isn't done about fuel prices, the cost of consumer goods will shoot up, Gentry said. "People aren't seeing that the more we pay, the more they're going to pay," he said.
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