RAWLINS, Wyo. — There's this saying Dan Rutledge remembers from time to time.

"You have to serve your time in purgatory before you hit the big bucks," he said.

So far, that hasn't happened.

Dan, 66, a Rawlins resident, been in the trucking industry for at least 30 years and has hauled everything from refrigerated trailers to tankers.

His wife, Betty, joined him in 1992 and they now own their own trucking business, D&B Transport, Inc.

Dan and Betty don't expect the trucking industry to make them rich.

"If you can make a decent living at it you're doing pretty good," Betty said.

Now, though, it's getting harder to get by.

"People aren't buying," Betty said. "They're holding back.

"They're out of work."

That's not good news for the truck driving couple. When consumers start clutching their cash, that means less goods to haul, fewer miles to cover and less money to make.

"It's getting bad," Betty said. "It's getting really bad."

On the whole, Wyoming's economy has escaped affects of the international economic free-fall..

Until now.

In the first quarter of 2009, personal income in Wyoming decreased by 3 percent from the same time last year, said Wenlin Liu, a senior economist with the Wyoming Economic Analysis Division.

"That's really the fastest decline since the mid 1980s," he added.

Consumer spending is down, unemployment is going up and residential housing construction is dropping "dramatically," he said.

These and other factors eventually impact workers in the "goods transportation" industry, Liu added.

Decreased demands have had an impact on Dan and Betty.

The couple earns about $1.15 per mile, although that amount tends to fluctuate. Before the economic crunch, they were traveling about 220,000 miles per year, they said.

By the end of this year, however, they estimate they'll cover about 190,000 miles, or about 30,000 miles less than in 2008.

As their miles are going down, costs to maintain their truck are going up.

When gas prices peaked in 2008, the price of raw rubber also increased, Dan said.

"Anything that was rubber went through the roof," he added.

In an effort to cut costs, trucking companies are requiring their drivers to haul more per load, Dan and Betty said, which means more fuel and maintenance for the driver.

The expenses add up.

"Nothing on that truck is cheap, nothing," Betty said.

Routine service on the truck costs about $300 and is required every 12,000 to 15,000 miles, they said. Sometimes, they can cover that many miles twice in a month.

Still, the couple has found ways of cutting back.

They have a microwave and coffee pot inside their truck, which means they don't have to rely on truck stops for their meals.

They also have a generator attached to their truck so that, at night, they can shut down the truck but still have power inside the cab.

"We don't do any impulsive buying, either," Betty said. "We've cut back because you have to."

The cost savings may seem small. But, from their experience, what they do with the small change will determine if they can weather tough times.

"Watch the pennies," Dan said.

Bridget Manley is on staff at the Rawlins, Wyo., Daily Times.

The Trucker staff can be reached to comment on this article at editor@thetrucker.com.

Follow The Trucker on Twitter at www.twitter.com/truckertalk.