Fuel prices- Again

[OntarioVanMan]

I know this gets old fast but I was thinking back a couple years ago actually around 03. We were discussing the ominous $2.00 gallon and what some would do when it got there...

On 3/27 on I70 in western Ohio diesel was $1.469 and gas was $1.489. Today 3/28 in Carlisle Pa diesel was $1.799 and gas was $1.489.

From RichM Feb. 12/03

For me $2.00 is the cut off line.My truck is paid for ,my living expenses are low so I can do something else and survive.It might not be fun but who said life is supposed to be fun.
G.W Bush is not the problem,the problem is the top guys at BP/Amoco,Shell (which is a Dutch Company) the Saudi!s ,the Venezulan
mess and so on. They see a way to raise prices due to the fear of disruption of supplies and go ahead and do it. If this disruption does not happen (which it probably won!t) they rake in big bucks for bigger bonus!s. I personally would rather have a President who is willing to kick some A-- rather then a President who is getting some A--. from a 21 year old. Garry Addis where are you??

Rich M
Moderator EO 8 years
Expediter 20 years

From Simon says Feb 20/03

Well, let me enlighten you: the entire administration comes from the oil industry! Bush,Cheney,Condoleeza Rice,Wolfowitz...all birds(hawks) of a feather banded together to pick our pockets. The immediate reason for the oil spike as economists explain, is 1)lockout of Venezuela oil workers-now 2 months; 2)war fears and Bush/oil co's will not release any SPR supplies; 3)combined with colder weather and rise in heating oil.
Personally, I was $300 over budget on diesel in Jan, and will be worse in Feb, combining less work & equal or more miles. Fuel was costing appr. .11/mile, and now may be close to .15 or higher. Not sure if I can take more than $2 gal. for D unit.

From Brandy Feb 17/03

$1.75 is my cut off limit, with freight being as slow as it is right now I can't afford to pay those high prices and still make a profit. I'm in this business for the long run but if Old Man Winter keeps freezing my A-- off,and those fuel prices keep emptying my wallet then I'm gonna have to throw in the towel and get a real job. I hate a regular 9to5 so I have no other choice but to take it up the A-- and try and walk as if I'm not getting the shaft
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Now we are in excess of $3.00 a gallon. Do you know your future?
Rich how did you survive?

 

[Moot]

When I started expediting gasoline was under a buck a gallon. While doing the math to see if I could make a go of it as an O/O I used $1.50/gallon as a worst case senario. Man was I wrong!!!!!

 

[OntarioVanMan]

I know the pitance that we get barely brings the costs down to 3 bucks at to-days rate.

I thinks carriers might have to raise the base price they use to calculate the FSC.

 

[RLENT]

My father started in business in 1929 down in South Akron, near the Firestone Rubber plant complex. He rented a small service/filling station ...... and bought gasoline for 9 cents per gallon and sold it for 11 (considered a fair profit at the time.)

He absolutely loved to tell this story .... I can't remember the number of times that he told it to me .... or I heard him tell it to others.

He passed away back in 1998 ..... and absolutely couldn't believe gas prices at over a $1 a gallon.

He would always talk about "inflation" and just shake his head .... he had lived enough Life that he had really seen it with his own eyes, in his lifetime. He had a really good handle on the value of money.

 

[terryandrene]

The operative words are Fuel Surcharge.

We weren't get FSC in '03. Our carrier currently gives us a FSC on every loaded and authorized deadhead mile. At 12 cents per mile, that equals at least $1.80 for every cargo van that gets 15 mpg or better. The FSC is designed to bring the effective cost of fuel to the US Gov't standard of about $1.25.

Now, cheap freight rates and the inflated cost of everything else is another story.

 

[greg334]

OVM,
As I have stated before, using a worst case scenario to find one's break point in this business is paramount before anything else. I moved my top end price from an original $2.50 a gallon to now $4.50 a gallon and cut out essentials like food and propane for the little heater.

The thing is, I see the price moving up towards $4.50 a gallon sooner than the "experts" think. After looking at the sources of crude, the lack of processing systems and the use of Home Heating Oil in the north east taking up a lot of the semi-refined base supplies of oil, I only see that diesel will become in more short supply than ever this year.

One other thing that I find rather sad and interesting that no one seems to care about in this industry is the National Fuel Consumption Average for trucks. This is an average based on tractors, which in 1968 was 5.04 mpg, in '77 was 5.1 and in 2006 was 5.9 - a gain of .086 of a mile per gallon after 38 years? If the fuel consumption followed other industries where consumption reductions were found, like Rail, there should have been an increase for the average to 7.5 or even as high a 8 mpg.

I posted a thread about a rhetorical engineering question, which was triggered by these numbers, and was to ask others (in a way) to think that there should be solutions. Maybe one is to stop all the NASA BS programs and shift the billions of dollars to research things to improve consumption of fuel for rail and truck and find ways to make us more energy independent. But again for some reason everyone thinks that NASA should be doing more to send more cr*p up to the ISS money pit.

 

[OntarioVanMan]

I know you Terry have your MPG's under control and the .12 cents pretty well pays a 100% of the fuel costs on a trip.

We get .15 but NOT on ALL miles just paid miles and NOT paid DH.

 

[terryandrene]

>One other thing that I find rather sad and interesting that
>no one seems to care about in this industry is the National
>Fuel Consumption Average for trucks. This is an average
>based on tractors, which in 1968 was 5.04 mpg, in '77 was
>5.1 and in 2006 was 5.9 - a gain of .086 of a mile per
>gallon after 38 years? If the fuel consumption followed
>other industries where consumption reductions were found,
>like Rail, there should have been an increase for the
>average to 7.5 or even as high a 8 mpg.

Greg
Could it be that in '68 tractors were pulling smaller pup or city trailers, mostly along US highways at no more than 55 mph. The Interstates, as we know them, weren't started until August of 1956 and were not yet available for cross country traffic. Route US-66, with its stop lights in every town, was the major thoroughfare from Chicago to LA. Air conditioning and other ammenities driven by the truck engine were not readily available in those early years, and 75 mph 53' trailers, doubles and triples weren't guzzeling the fuel as they do today.

 

[Moot]

"Now, cheap freight rates and the inflated cost of everything else is another story."

Terry, I agree. My f.s.c. is keeping fuel prices at $1.25/gallon for loaded miles only. But I am still making less than I was 10 years ago.

Greg without NASA we wouldn't have Tang or Velcro. So there!

 

[rollnthunder]

Wow maybe i should sell the straight truck and get a cargo van.With .12 and .14 cents a mile fuel surcharge im still paying about $2.00 a gallon out of my pocket with todays prices.I get right around 10 mpg in my straight truck.

 

[greg334]

Moot, that was in the 60's - what have they done since?

Given us crazy emotional distressed professional astronaut?

Give us overruns in projects that are comparable to a large state's budget?

Terry,
I am still on the side that FedEx should open up the pumps at the ground locations to allow many of us who have trucks to buy the fuel at $1.25 a gallon.

 

[TeamCaffee]

Terry was correct but his prices are outdated. We are paid fsc for all authorized dh miles and loaded miles. Authorized dh is dh to pickup or dh to layover.

The current fuel prices are:

Van is 15 mpg $0.1400 Straight Truck 9 mpg at is $0.2330 E Unit 6 mpg at $0.3500 and west coast is even higher.

With FedEx Custom Critical changing our fsc weekly we are fairly compensated. If you can beat their average MPG the customer will be paying even more of your fuel. We have to get smarter with our businesses as the freight prices are not going to go up.

Our cost of fuel is our most expensive outlay but the fsc keeps it manageable. Keeping our heavy foot out of it also keeps the cost under control. When a state has a posted speed limit of 70 mph you make the choice to run that fast or not that is not a mandatory speed.

 

[mrgoodtude]

We just ran Seattle to points east talk about food for thought...
Was $3.80 a gal at the T/A
It didn't get reasonable till Sioux Falls at $3.27 a gallon.
Next weeks rates should be healthy with the fuel adjustment.
????
Mike and Cyn

 

[davekc]

I think the FSC's will have to come up, and it seems as though they are except for contracts that were signed six months ago. We had one at 18 cents which was sad, and we had a truck in MN today pick one up with a .55 cent FSC. As long as they average out, we will be ok.









Davekc
owner
23 years
PantherII
EO moderator

 

[RichM]

Ken aka OVM, How have I survived,I am doing OK can't really discuss what I am doing but the cost of fuel does not affect me me in any way.
About 15 months ago I sold my FL 70 which did not owe me a dime and I entered into a private relationship with a company that needs to remain anonymous and have a very good working relationship that is somewhat lucrative with no investment on my part.

 

[greg334]

Terry,
In comparison to the average truck of yesterday and today we have had various improvements to the engine management, drive train management and especially aerodynamics of the truck that should have brought up the efficiencies of the truck, which is my point.

As it is true that the truck of yesterday pulled a smaller trailer, some doubles were around and the weight was less, with the efficiencies that are in today’s trucks, there should be solid point differences in the national fuel consumption average over the span of 39 years which there is not and it is something that should be addressed.

As for RT 66 and trucks using of primaries, state and US designated roads opposed to the use of interstates, I don’t agree. Since much of the interstates were finished by the mid 70’s and with the speed limit issue, the reduction of the speed limit was not done until 1974, where some states had higher speed limits then as they do now. All of which is a factor to my point but does not really support an answer why we don't see the increase as in other industries.

 

[greg334]

The sad thing is, we are own enemy in this.

 

[x06col]

Certainly are!! Many seem to feel that FSC should pay FOR the fuel used. Don't happen that way.

 

[ATeam]

While fuel surcharges rise as fuel prices rise, and while that money is collected from shippers and passed on to the trucks (except where fleet owners may pay for fuel and have other arrangements with their drivers), shippers increased fuel prices impact shippers, consignees and their downline customers at some point.

As shipping costs rise, shippers, consignees and their downline customers will be motivated to review their shipping procedures like packaging, scheduling, carrier relationships and the efficient use of trucks. A company that shipped say 100 loads a week may seek to ship the same amount of freight in 80 loads a week through improved shipping processes. Or, a company that would like to ship 100 loads a week may only be able to ship 80 because their downline customers are cutting back.

As fuel prices dance around $100 a barrel and will likely continue to rise (China and emerging economies increase demand), the comfort expediters receive from fuel surcharges may be replaced by the pain of slower freight and the empty trucks that result.

 

[rollnthunder]

Then there is something very wrong with the company im at.Our fs is still .14 to .16 for straight trucks as of today.I questioned them and they cant believe all these other companies that i mention are paying what they are for FS.