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With diesel fuel at $4 per gallon, truckers say slowing down saves money. (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23757347)

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/Con-way_full_aero_truck.jpgAP - March 22, 2008

Con-way aero truck and trailer, the big rig of the future - Many truckers are slowing down out of necessity as fuel costs rise. -- Ed.

BISMARCK, N.D. - Coast-to-coast trucker Lorraine Dawson says fellow drivers used to call her "Lead Foot Lorraine." But with diesel fuel around $4 a gallon, she and other big-rig drivers have backed off their accelerators to conserve fuel.

"I used to be a speed demon, but no more," said Dawson, based at Tacoma, Wash. "Most drivers have cut their speed considerably."

Dawson said she's cut her speed by five to 10 miles per hour to save money for her company. Many independent owner-operators have slowed even more, she said.

"My fiancée is an owner-operator and he's been crying a lot about the price of fuel," Dawson said. "He's been slowing way down."

Truckers and industry officials say slowing a tractor-trailer rig from 75 mph to 65 mph increases fuel mileage by more than a mile a gallon, a significant bump for machines that get less than 10 miles per gallon hauling thousands of pounds of freight. Even sitting still with the engine idling, a rig gulps about a gallon of diesel every hour.

"We just can't afford it," Dawson said of diesel as she was topping off her fuel tanks at a Bismarck truck stop.

When she started driving trucks in 1997, diesel was about $1.97 a gallon, $2 a gallon cheaper than what she paid Wednesday in Bismarck. Rigs like hers have two fuel tanks, typically holding 300 gallons each.

Fuel costs surpass labor costs

The nationwide average for a gallon of diesel on Thursday was $4.03, up from $2.74 one year earlier, AAA North Dakota spokesman Gene LaDoucer said. The average in North Dakota on Thursday was $3.98, up from $2.82 a year ago, he said… http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23757347

Let's make this a news article!

sounds good to me - How doe one do that?:rolleyes:

Nice!! Good to hear that those truckers are getting on board too. "Hypermiling?" lol. Maybe if they bring their 10mpg to 12. lol

Hi Coaster:

___Setting it up and looking for a good pic right now ... nice find indeed!

___Hi M6soto, welcome to CleanMPG! The OTR truckers are usually pulling 5 – 5.5 mpg and even 1 mpg makes a huge difference!

___Good Luck

___Wayne

Haven't seen many of those slow truckers on the interstates around here. But then our local fuel prices are cheaper than those in most of the country so they may think they are getting bargain fuel rates and can start speeding again.

I wonder if we'll see an effect on safety - other than in basjoos' part of the country :).

I have never understood why diesel fuel is more expensive than gasoline. As I understand it, diesel fuel requires less processing before it reaches the public than does gasoline. So, if that is the case, then why isn't gasoline more expensive than diesel?

As for slowing down to save fuel, we could all do that - not just truckers.

Cost of diesel is more because they only process 7 gallons of diesel fuel from a barrel of oil. One the other hand, they are able to process 20 gallons of gas from a barrel of oil.

With more car manufacturers building diesels , the price of diesel will continue to rise faster than gasoline......My .02$

Willie

Diesel is also more expensive because it's taxed more heavily, and rightly so. From what I've read most of the wear and tear on our road and highway systems comes from heavy transport vehicles. Ask anyone who has had the pleasure of living in a small town that happens to be convenient for bypassing a weigh station, how nice that road is? Now, if any of those taxes make it back into the road maintenance system, who knows....?

On a slightly separate track, I've been contemplating why shipping in small groups by truck is so much cheaper than shipping by rail when rail is proven to be much more efficient than shipping by truck.

I've come to the hypothesis: whether they know it or not, tax payers subsidize the trucking industry. Look at it this way: the railroads took care of all facets of planning, construction, hiring construction workers, blasting wholes through mountains for tunnels, building bridges, hiring maintenance workers, paying easements... Compare this to our national highway system where all of these things are paid for by public funds. What does a trucking company have to do? Get a business license, buy a few trucks, set up a couple warehouses, stick a few drivers in the seats and boom! they're good to go. Nothing against trucking, it has it's place, but it should be local, not interstate.

</rant>

Alex

Good stuff.

About three years ago, I was on a sleeper bus on a Texas to Colorado ski trip listening to a trucker (hope he was not representive of his profession) bragging about doing 100mph with 80,000lbs, about how if this Ford Pinto did not take the shoulder it would have been history...I'd be eager to hear his tune now. ;)

Hi Alex-
I paid 17 cents per mile in usage taxes (registration, fed heavy vehicle use tax, fed diesel tax, state diesel taxes) in 2007. I run lower miles so fixed registration taxes push the tax per mile rate up a bit. Most trucks are in the 12-15 cents per mile range, depending on type of operation.

Regarding railroads- Look at a current railroad system map, the routes aren't there anymore. Most railroad freight is unit train (bulk, like coal) or long distance. Shippers are trying to use railroads more but they have a horrible reputation for customer service. Anything that is time sensitive and shipped by a small/midsized company will go by truck, especially if it's under 1000 miles. Railroads are getting their act together, but that shift is going to take some time. All kinds of other variables play into this but these are what come to mind. I hope more freight does move by rail, because in addition to the fuel consumption problem, we have congestion and failing bridges for which noone has a popular solution.

Keith

Yes, I have noticed trucks around Columbus driving (almost down to) the speed limit the last few months. I have even passed a couple...

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