Oklahoma trucking official tells it like it is

The Trucker News Services

2/28/2008

OKLAHOMA CITY— Dan Case, executive director of the Oklahoma Trucking Association, said Wednesday that trucking companies have no option but to pass ever-increasing diesel fuel prices on to customer, according to an article in an Oklahoma City newspaper, The Journal Record.

The national average price for diesel jumped Wednesday to $3.61 per gallon, and Oklahoma reached an all-time state high of $3.44 per gallon.

“Gas and diesel have gone through the roof,” Case said. “Television reports tell us to expect $4 gas by early summer. So when there’s $4 gas, that’s really cause for more concern for us, because diesel has been much higher.”

Case said truck transport has not decreased and probably won’t anytime soon.

“Each day,” he noted, “consumers are demanding to move more products. Right now, the trucking industry is carrying 70 percent of all freight.”

Most 18-wheelers have tanks that hold 300 gallons of fuel, said Case, adding that “it’s over $1,000 to fill the tanks. Trucks get five to seven miles from each gallon of fuel.

“Some truckers have said that at some point, it may not be worth carrying the load,” Case noted.

The saver for truckers is a fuel surcharge, which is costly to manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers, and that cost likely is handled by the consumer, said Case.

“Charges are determined by the contract,” he said. “Full surcharges are 30 to 40 percent above the cost of moving the freight.”

If a load usually costs $2,000, another $600 to $800 for fuel has to be added to the overall cost.

“Trucks cost four times more per mile than a car,” he said. “It costs us about four times per mile. We have to charge more. We can’t swallow the costs.”