chipmonk

if they want to make their point by not making deliveries, that's their right, and it might bring attention to their cause. if they want to make their point by trying to hold up traffic for a week, by intentionally driving slow on the interstates, they're most likely going to lose the support of the motorists stuck behind them, and may end up looking worse than the oil companies.

HOHN

No, it's a package of 12

flytrip

[QUOTE= Yet through all of this they keep on truckin' keeping our shelves stocked and our tanks full...Thanks guys! [/QUOTE]

I can't stand statements like this. Lets all thank the truckers who haul our stuff just to help us all out, for free, and don't benefit at all. Its their job, they get paid. But hey, thanks for doin' that just for me. I am greatful that they do it, but am not foolish enough to think its just for societies benefit!

Checkmate

Ditto to that.

HOHN

+1

I'm not sure I see the same appreciation for all those selfless oil refiners-- serving the public in their noble calling.

I say $6 a gallon to help out those poor guys

Checkmate

Nobody said they do it for free. I am sure that there are companies going under BECAUSE of the fuel prices and i for one can understand how hard it is. So many people are saying "they just pass the cost to the consumer" Well yes, they do when they can. It's NOT always that easy.

I frame houses for a living. I do work for builders. For the past 4 years I have NOT been able to raise my prices at all due to all the "will work for dirt cheap" trades out of work. HOWEVER my fuel, materials, labor, workers comp, etc. etc. has ALL gone up. Therefore I am on the verge of saying screw it and throwin the towel in.
I can imagine it is a similar situation with the indepedant truckers. They can't get all the money out of the consumers or they risk losing their jobs.
A few years back there were 2 top jobs in the U.S. that had huge demand. Medical and Trucking....Looks like the second one is gonna be changing.

I support any workers out there that are struggling to make ends meet as a result of this lovely economy.
The bush needs shaved!!!

justme-

Yup- that's the answer- it's Bush's fault! Bush secretly made deals with Opec and other companies to raise the cost of oil.... and he has hustled in millions of illegal workers from Brazil and Mexico who will work for peanuts.... No matter what the issue someone has to blame Bush. Oh, and of course Obama, Hilary, and McCain have plans to drop the gas tax (yeah, right) and to convince OPEC to lower prices, (yup, sure) and to force the big greedy oil companies to stop making money to lower prices (which will force oil companies out of business in the US.... mark my words- you heard it here first)

Listen, I am just as thankful for truckers as the next guy, but the world changes- change with it or die. Did you know the Teamsters were the death of the railroads? If not for the Teamsters we'd still be shipping freight around the country heavily dependent on the railroads which are WAY more efficient in that service for the amount of goods versus the outlay of fuel and work. Hoffa was an extortionist in certain circumstances- that's how he got his way in several critical instances which put the Teamsters into the power they hold today.
I support any working man who does an honest day's work- but in any industry no matter WHAT you do there will be new comers who will undercut you. Just ask a snowplower that has been doing it for a few years. The trucker strike will do nothing but call attention to the "human interest" story the news media will cover- it's not going to get the feds to repeal the gas tax (they need that money, if they repeal that tax they will just add it back somewhere else- they always do).

Odds are the "strike"will be covered as the truckers trying to save fuel by driving slower in the news, not as a protest. Net gain by the action- zero.

If you want to fight the loss of wages to honest Americans like the building industry support immigration reform that will deport illegals and secure the borders - don't fall for the leftist approach that they are here to better themselves- I'm sure they are, but they are doing that at the expense of our jobs, our healthcare, our economy and our dime!


Oh, and don't forget not only are the costs of milk and Eggs up, but the cost of Corn will be astronomical this year because of the demand for Ethanol- you know, the inefficient gas substitute and additive and soy products will be more expensive because of the demand for soy oil to make biodiesel. Don't think that will not effect you because you don't eat Tofu- soy protein is used in about 70% of products on the store shelves these days....

TreeFarm

What! Now they're fooling with the price of soy burgers. Oh the infamy of it all....

Soy burgers,

JustLuckey

"Did you know the Teamsters were the death of the railroads?"

I think emergence jet airliners had a big deal to do with that, as well. Obviously, not for the larger cargo.

TreeFarm

CSX and Norfolk Southern haul a lot of freight through this area. I guess someone ought to tell them they're dead.

high bid

...and before long a dozen/package = 9 items, a case = 20 and priced the same to make you think your to benefit.

Checkmate

Actually..If I recall correctly, It WAS a shrubs idea to give out "work" card for illegals to work cheap in the u.s.
I'm not really blaming hm for causing it, just denying that IT is here.

justme-

Not really- the Teamsters were in full swing and the railroads were in decline before the jet engine even existed. The Railroad was the major route for cross country transportation of all goods and long distance transportation for almost all goods until the 1930's. A train could and still can go all night at a steady speed where a truck then had to contend with terrible roads, poor quality tires (or solid tires), limited fuel supplies, and the stress on the driver.

In the midwest there is more rail usage, and with the costs of fuel and expenses over the past decade there has been a revival in rail use. When you look at the playing field tho, There are only a few players, with CSX being the largest in the country.... There was a time when all cars were shipped by rail not on car carriers, when factories received and shipped by rail- buildings had private railheads for such things- now every commercial building has loading docks...

Compare how many tons of goods ship on CSX in a year versus how many tons Yellow ships, or CF, or overnight, there's an imbalance, especially when you stop at any truck stop and read the free drivers magazines with ad after ad for freight companies looking for teams and owner ops for long haul routes. Those should be rail goods, not truck goods routes. Most trucking companies got their start doing rail yard to local runs.
The real death for the rails was the 1950's.


History is written by the winners- remember that. A great many of the innovations and inventions we take for granted were accidents (like microwave ovens, lucite, plexiglass, hula hoops) and even more interesting are the stories behind them the history books leave out- like the story of the diesel engine- which Rudolph Diesel designed to run on Peanut oil, not #2 fuel oil. When he went missing and his "partners" took the design they converted it to #2 fuel oil because that was what was commercially available and they realized they could market it and sell not only engines but fuel. Diesel himself was against petroleum oil as a fuel. He disappeared in Sept 1913 from the SS Dresden and was found 10 days later off the Dutch coast.
Also interesting is why the world uses AC electricity and not DC- we almost did and in fact in many cities DID use DC. It's a prime example of what we view as history today being a very glossed over simplified view.

austin1972

I have the same problem with the Burlington Northern/Santa Fe here. 'I see dead industry. It's everywhere'.

austin1972

Huh? HVDC wasn't even commercially viable until the introduction of the static mercury arc valve in the mid 1950's. Even now, HVDC only makes sense over long distance runs. I enjoyed the rest of your post though.