A Famous Guy Said Something Once; or Fuel Cost For Truckers

[ThomWV]

I can't remember who said it, maybe Fermi or someone, but it goes something like this; 'any reasonably intelligent man should be able to make a pretty good estimate of anything. So I was wondering about the effect of the increase of fuel cost for truckers.

I know that big trucks get about 5 miles per gallon, I have an idea about how big a truck is, I can apply what seem to me to be reasonable guesses about the other factors that will allow me to understand a little bit about how this should work out.

Let's say a guy is hauling a load ot televisions from a coast port to some place 2,000 miles inland, what happens if the increase in fuel cost is applied to the truck as it would be for a private operator, or if it is applied to the item being hauled as it would be in a company fleet operation.

Lets make the trailer 8 feet wide, 8 feet tall, and 40 feet long and lets make our televisions medium size so they fit in boxes that are 4'x2'x2. At those sizes 160 televisions will fit in the trailer.

Two thousand miles at five miles per gallon comes to 400 gallons of fuel. At an average speed of 55 miles per hour it will take 36 and a third hours to haul the load. Let's see what happened when the price went from $3.00 per gallon at the beginning of the year to its current $4.35.

In January the cost in fuel to move those televisions was $1,200, which was $7.50 per television. That increased to $1,740 now, which means that it now cost $540 more to drive the truck 2000 miles. The new cost is $10.88 per television. So if its a company truck the price of the television goes up by $3.38. But consider how it works out from the driver's point of view if it is his truck and he is paying for the fuel, that increase in fuel cost of $540 divided by his 36.3 hours of labor means his effective rate of pay has been reduced by $14.88 per hour. How many self employed working men do you know who can long survive a decrease in pay of almost fifteen dollars per hour?

[niyad]

1. why limit it to working men?

[ThomWV]

2. Because unemployed men can't, by definition, drive trucks for a living

And my use of the word "men" is unisex.

[niyad]

3. no,your use of the word men did not include women. why couldn't you

just say working women and men? one cannot make assumptions about inclusion, you know.

[ThomWV]

4. That is your way of using the word, not mine. (edited)

On eidt. Why are you being a dickwad here? I'm trying to make a point about the effect of increased fuel cost on independent truckers and you're dragging this off into bullshit land where every word is a slight against good honest women. Quit trying to change the subject and quit trying to put your thoughts into my words.

[Stuckinthebush]

5. DUers will argue about anything

Don't sweat it. Your use of the word "men" is understood.

[niyad]

7. in view of the fact that sexism is vehemently denied by so many on this board

considering the screaming that occurs whenever the word is mentioned, I simply choose to point out things like an assumption of inclusion.

Talkin Gender Neutral Blues
(Kristin Lems)
2005-01-19
words and music by Kristin Lems c 2005

This talkin blues (or is it a pre-rap?) is in the Woody Guthrie, Arlo Guthrie, and Bob Dylan tradition....musing aloud to a chord progression. The song is printed in the "Feminist Dictionary" and some other places.

I was walkin down the street one day
Reading the signs that passed my way
And after a while I started to see
That none of those words referred to me...
Good will towards men, all men are created equal,
Praise Him!

Well I asked some friends if they agreed
That they felt left out in the things they read
They told me yes, and added some more
And soon we all felt pretty sore
You got your Congressman, spaceman, sideman....
But I never heard a no house husband!

Well some men came by and a fight began to grow:
�You girls are so dumb you just don�t know,
These here are called �generic words�
They�re meant to include both the bees and the birds.�
Well gee fellas, how am I supposed to know?
I certainly don�t feel included!

Ok said I, if that�s so true,
I�ll just use �woman� to cover the two
�It don�t make a difference to us,� they said
�If you wanna use woman, go right ahead.�
I said, thanks, that�s really sisterly of you
Glad to see you believe in sportswomanship!

�Now hold your horses,� they started to cry.
I think I�ll hold my mares, said I.
�You�re leavin all of us guys behind.�
Why no, we�re all part of womankind.
So don�t fret friends, take it like a woman
You�ll get used to it, just like we all did!

[niyad]

6. oh my, trying to insult me because I questioned your use of the word "men"

why so defensive and obnoxious?

I understood your point perfectly, just wondered why it was limited. as I said, I don't make assumptions about inclusion, because, all too often, inclusion is NOT meant.

[bean fidhleir]

15. "And my use of the word "men" is unisex."

No, it's sexist. "People" is unisex; "men" in a context that includes women excludes women and is sexist.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

8. And the cost of tires will probably be going up

Tires are made from petroleum by-products and they are a big expense when replaced on a truck and they must be periodically replaced. The cost of lube oil and brake and clutch fluid to operate that truck will probably go up as oil prices increase. The cost to replace rubber belts in the truck's engine will probably go up as well as the myriad other things made of rubber or plastics in a truck's engine, from hoses to bushings.

[A HERETIC I AM]

9. Brake and clutch fluid? On a heavy truck?

Hmmm...I drove for over 20 years and never had to replace brake or clutch fluid on a heavy truck. Must be because they don't use such things.

Now - a flat on the fifth wheel - that's another issue.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

10. That's true

But box trucks otherwise known as cube trucks with a fixed trailer can be huge, like the Durastar International. They are one of the principal types of trucks for hauling furniture and appliances, such as the TV sets the OP mentioned. They are mostly equipped with hydraulic brakes and not air brakes. I know the expense for brake fluid would be minor but the point is that lots of minor components as well as tires are probably going to go up in price.

[ThomWV]

11. Oil changes must be a killer for the big trucks.

I use Blackstone Labs myself and I'm up to 10,000 mile changes because of it but I hate to think what it must cost those guys to change their oil. My Ford pickup's diesel uses 4 gallons (16 quarts) of oil and that was costing me $40 a case (6 gallons) the last time I bought it. I hate to think what it will cost now.

[catnhatnh]

12. Well last time I worked that side of it....

the normal fill of oil for a Cummins Diesel (let's say an NTC350) was 44 quarts....

[A HERETIC I AM]

13. $174.99

For a typical, modern, 4-stroke diesel engine in the 12 liter displacement range, including filters.

At Petro:Lube, anyway...

http://www.petrotruckstops.com/service_menu.sstg

[Tashca]

14. not good enough estimate

I just heard this a couple of days ago. There is a mid sized trucking company here in the midwest (@2000 trucks). This is a good company that treats it's drivers well and has an outstanding reputation for getting the job done. It has been very profitable in the past for investors. One particular investor was telling me the story.

This last quarter after figuring costs of running the trucks....added in all the surcharges for increased cost of fuel....they came up 5.1 million dollars short on covering their fuel cost. Now I realize 5.1 million may not be much for that many trucks. These people can afford to hire people who should be able to make a reasonable estimate on covering fuel costs......they were in shock when the results came in.

I would imagine there are many worse stories out there....