xcel
03-30-2008, 01:31 PM
Slowdown protest planned for next week (http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080328/BUSINESS/803280423/1003/BUSINESS)
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/Kenworth_on_the_road.jpgDwight Adams - IndyStar - March 27, 2008
Independents will have to figure out how to be profitable or not drive because fuel prices are not going to drop precipitously nor are releases from the SPR going to help. -- Ed.
Facing mounting diesel fuel costs and shrinking profits, truckers nationwide plan to protest next week by parking their semis or clogging traffic by driving slowly.
Pennsylvania-based independent truckers say they will send a convoy to that state's capital, Harrisburg, during rush hour Monday morning in protest of high fuel costs. They also are planning slowdowns during rush hour in Washington, D.C., and elsewhere, and some are planning to park for a few hours early Tuesday to show solidarity for a movement that seems to have no central organizer.
The truckers say diesel gas prices, which in Indianapolis averaged $4.07 a gallon on Thursday, according to AAA Hoosier Motor Club, are forcing some drivers out of business.
Independent trucker Bob Kuzniar, 60, Churubusco, who drives a 200-gallon semi trailer loaded with soda and other goods, said he's heard truckers say they might call in sick Monday as their way of protesting.
While not saying he would participate in the protests, Kuzniar said his fuel costs more than doubled from $1,255 a week at the beginning of January to $2,684 last week. The cost increases will be passed on, he said.
"As fuel prices go up, so do delivery costs," Kuzniar said. "That gets passed on to the consumer."
Since September 2004, diesel fuel prices have outpaced gasoline prices because of increased global demand, a costlier refining process caused by a federally mandated transition to low-sulfur diesel, and higher federal excise taxes, the Energy Information Administration says.
"It's probably the worst it's ever been," said Dana Greenlaw, 40, an independent driver from Ontario, Canada, who stopped in Indianapolis on Wednesday to fill up his semi en route to Laredo, Texas… http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080328/BUSINESS/803280423/1003/BUSINESS
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/Kenworth_on_the_road.jpgDwight Adams - IndyStar - March 27, 2008
Independents will have to figure out how to be profitable or not drive because fuel prices are not going to drop precipitously nor are releases from the SPR going to help. -- Ed.
Facing mounting diesel fuel costs and shrinking profits, truckers nationwide plan to protest next week by parking their semis or clogging traffic by driving slowly.
Pennsylvania-based independent truckers say they will send a convoy to that state's capital, Harrisburg, during rush hour Monday morning in protest of high fuel costs. They also are planning slowdowns during rush hour in Washington, D.C., and elsewhere, and some are planning to park for a few hours early Tuesday to show solidarity for a movement that seems to have no central organizer.
The truckers say diesel gas prices, which in Indianapolis averaged $4.07 a gallon on Thursday, according to AAA Hoosier Motor Club, are forcing some drivers out of business.
Independent trucker Bob Kuzniar, 60, Churubusco, who drives a 200-gallon semi trailer loaded with soda and other goods, said he's heard truckers say they might call in sick Monday as their way of protesting.
While not saying he would participate in the protests, Kuzniar said his fuel costs more than doubled from $1,255 a week at the beginning of January to $2,684 last week. The cost increases will be passed on, he said.
"As fuel prices go up, so do delivery costs," Kuzniar said. "That gets passed on to the consumer."
Since September 2004, diesel fuel prices have outpaced gasoline prices because of increased global demand, a costlier refining process caused by a federally mandated transition to low-sulfur diesel, and higher federal excise taxes, the Energy Information Administration says.
"It's probably the worst it's ever been," said Dana Greenlaw, 40, an independent driver from Ontario, Canada, who stopped in Indianapolis on Wednesday to fill up his semi en route to Laredo, Texas… http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080328/BUSINESS/803280423/1003/BUSINESS