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Mackman · Joined: 14 Sep 2005 Posts: 2251 Location: Concordville PA

Dear President Bush,

On behalf of America’s small business trucking professionals, I am writing to ask that you do all that you can to stabilize the cost of diesel fuel in our country. Along with the more than 160,000 members of OOIDA, small business truckers across the nation are suffering greatly from the erratic and escalating price of fuel. While I fully recognize that this is an extraordinarily difficult and complex problem to address, I believe that there are some measures within your Administration’s power that may be taken to alleviate tight domestic fuel markets and ultimately help to rein in fuel prices.

As you may know, small business truckers (operating 6 or fewer trucks) comprise close to 90 percent of the trucking industry. Considering that trucks account for the movement of 69 percent of all goods transported in the U.S. and are the only providers of goods to 75 percent of American communities, small business truckers are quite literally the backbone of our nation's economy. The cost of fuel is the single greatest operating expense with which small business truckers must contend. Volatile and often high fuel prices have devastated these businesses over the last several years. Thousands of trucking companies have not been able to survive. The corresponding loss of businesses has had an enormous impact on the freight hauling capacity of the trucking industry and its ability to address the needs of America’s manufacturers, shippers, and retailers.

Each time the price of fuel increases by 5 cents per gallon, a trucker’s annual costs increase by roughly $1,000. In just the past six months, the average price of diesel has climbed by more than 40 cents per gallon. This is an enormous burden on the small business trucker whose average annual income is $37,000 to $40,000. With strong demand, tight supplies and the rising cost of crude oil, the Department of Energy predicts that diesel prices will continue to rise well beyond former record highs. The urgency for action to help truckers survive grows with every additional cent they must pay at the fuel pump. The line between profit and loss for small truckers is getting thinner every day.

With consideration to the current prices of fuel, we ask that your Administration immediately cease the diversion of oil supplies to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) and instead allow that product to directly enter the marketplace. While most small business truckers understand the premise behind the SPR, it is very difficult for them to understand the Administration’s insistence on continuing to ship oil to the SPR at a time when all Americans are suffering from high fuel costs. Shipping oil to the SPR at this time only serves to exacerbate the already tight domestic fuel market. As was appropriately stated by several members of Congress in a recent letter to you, “Filling the SPR, without regard to crude oil prices and the availability of supplies, drives oil prices higher and ultimately hurts consumers.”

We also implore you to make use of your Administration’s authority and influence to ensure that American fuel producers and refiners cease their exports of diesel and biodiesel products to other nations. As you well know, with the intent to encourage and support the production and refinement of fuel for the domestic marketplace, those entities receive an extraordinary amount of taxpayer dollars in the form of grants, tax credits and other financial incentives. There is no justifiable reason those companies should accept American taxpayer incentives and then export their products. Actions such as that are nothing short of fraud. Every drop of fuel that has been subsidized by American taxpayers should be available only to American consumers.

The majority of OOIDA members have supported your efforts to encourage domestic production, including opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) and the outer continental shelf to drilling. Our members believe however, that the federal government should not be providing financial incentives to multi-billion dollar companies during a time when market factors provide more than sufficient encouragement for those entities to invest in expanding their domestic production and refinery efforts.

Mr. President, the hard-working truckers that drive the commerce of this country and make our nation competitive in the world marketplace need your support now more than ever.

Sincerely,

Jim Johnston
President

mikey4069 · Joined: 01 Aug 2006 Posts: 560 Location: northern cali

It fell on deaf ear's :twisted:

Mackman · Joined: 14 Sep 2005 Posts: 2251 Location: Concordville PA

mikey4069 wrote: It fell on deaf ear's :twisted:

You are 100% right.

allan5oh · Posted: Tue Apr 22, 2008 12:32 am Post subject:

That's odd, I seem to recall my net income rising when the price of diesel rose.

Rev.Vassago · Joined: 04 Apr 2006 Posts: 5197 Location: Green Bay, WI

This belongs in the comedy forum. :lol:

Mackman wrote: Dear President Bush,

This is a professional letter. Perhaps Jim Johnston should learn how to properly write one. It should read "Dear President Bush:"

Quote: On behalf of America’s small business trucking professionals, I am writing to ask that you do all that you can to stabilize the cost of diesel fuel in our country.

President Bush doesn't set the price of fuel. This letter should be written to the Arab Sheiks.

Quote: Along with the more than 160,000 members of OOIDA, small business truckers across the nation are suffering greatly from the erratic and escalating price of fuel.

If they are "suffering", then they are doing something wrong. Perhaps they should change what they are doing wrong. If everyone was suffering, then I could see this position.

Quote: Volatile and often high fuel prices have devastated these businesses over the last several years. Thousands of trucking companies have not been able to survive. The corresponding loss of businesses has had an enormous impact on the freight hauling capacity of the trucking industry and its ability to address the needs of America’s manufacturers, shippers, and retailers.

Yet there is still a shortage of freight, and the shippers have the upper hand...........interesting. If what Jimbo was saying were true, then carriers could charge whatever they wanted to shippers.

Quote: Each time the price of fuel increases by 5 cents per gallon, a trucker’s annual costs increase by roughly $1,000. In just the past six months, the average price of diesel has climbed by more than 40 cents per gallon. This is an enormous burden on the small business trucker whose average annual income is $37,000 to $40,000.

So these carriers are moving freight for free now? :lol: Notice he makes no mention of the FSC raising to cover most of these costs.

Quote: With consideration to the current prices of fuel, we ask that your Administration immediately cease the diversion of oil supplies to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) and instead allow that product to directly enter the marketplace. While most small business truckers understand the premise behind the SPR, it is very difficult for them to understand the Administration’s insistence on continuing to ship oil to the SPR at a time when all Americans are suffering from high fuel costs. Shipping oil to the SPR at this time only serves to exacerbate the already tight domestic fuel market. As was appropriately stated by several members of Congress in a recent letter to you, “Filling the SPR, without regard to crude oil prices and the availability of supplies, drives oil prices higher and ultimately hurts consumers.”

I guess Jimbo doesn't remember when Clinton tried this very tactic back in the late 90's. Guess what? IT HAD NO EFFECT ON THE PRICE OF FUEL.

Quote: We also implore you to make use of your Administration’s authority and influence to ensure that American fuel producers and refiners cease their exports of diesel and biodiesel products to other nations. As you well know, with the intent to encourage and support the production and refinement of fuel for the domestic marketplace, those entities receive an extraordinary amount of taxpayer dollars in the form of grants, tax credits and other financial incentives. There is no justifiable reason those companies should accept American taxpayer incentives and then export their products. Actions such as that are nothing short of fraud.

It is considered fraud for legitimate businesses to sell their product to whoever they want???

gordoUSA · Joined: 29 Jul 2007 Posts: 203 Location: san antonio, TX

All of Washington, DC is a fraud, where you been?

This might be the first time where the gov’t. has entered into direct competition buying oil for the strategic reserves on the spot market. This action drives up the price of the limited supply of oil. (supplies controlled by OPEC) Previous, less crooked administrations, used the strategic reserves as a “price support system” for the oil industry. When prices would drop, the gov’t would step in and purchase oil for the strategic reserves, good deal for the taxpayers and the country, good for the oil industry in that it would help support the price for profitability till the market forces turned around again. Then the gov’t would no longer buy oil when the prices got too high. But not these crooks, they started competing for oil on the spot market the day they rolled into town. Higher oil prices means more money for them and their oil buddies.

When “Dubya” was Gov. of Texas the only thing he really did, was give more tax breaks to his west texas oil friends, amounting into now the billions of dollars, of course the US gov’t. also gives considerable tax breaks to the oil industry also. If in the time of need, the oil barons want to sell their oil abroad at a higher price, at the detriment of their countrymen, so be it, we should just remove their tax breaks and loopholes. Same thing we should do to the companies that wish to relocate to Communist China, remove their tax breaks, loopholes, and add in the appropriate tariffs. Screw them.

If you want something done, start stuffing money into the pockets of all the Congressmen, and don't be cheap. Democracy has a price you know.

homealone3 · Joined: 04 Dec 2007 Posts: 134 Location: CA

I read this elsewhere and found it interesting:

I paid $4.12 a gallon for gas today.
President Bush came from the oil industry,
Dick Cheney was CEO of an oil support business.
When they took office, the priced of a barrel of oil was $26. dollars.
Today it hit $120 a barrel.
Oil Companies are making the largest profits ever in history.
Oil Company Executives are making salaries in the "hundred million dollar range" and are considered obscene when compared to the effect on on our economy where prices continue to rise based on the price of oil.
Is this a coincidence?

Uturn2001 · Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2008 5:24 pm Post subject:

Speculation, instability in major oil producing nations, and our government's continued partisan politics are the 3 major reasons why oil prices are what they are, IMHO.

If you want flip things around and look at what the price of oil was before and after the democrats took control of congress.

gordoUSA · Joined: 29 Jul 2007 Posts: 203 Location: san antonio, TX

Also remember: Condeleeza Rice came from the oil industry, only woman in the world with a super tanker named after her.

Also: President Karzhid (sp) of Afghanistan was also a oil excuetive for Chevron/Texaco, I believe it was, in Central Asia.

Surprised anyone?

GMAN · Joined: 13 Feb 2005 Posts: 9314 Location: Tennessee

It is always easy to blame the president or an individual for the woes of this country. There is more involved than a single individual. Congress approved the merger of the major oil companies, most of which are now controlled by foreign interests. It is congress who has blocked further oil exploration and building of additional refineries in this country. It is congress who has discouraged alternative energy sources. Perhaps you should consider throwing out all of those career politicians and get some fresh blood in congress. It is ultimately the citizens who should demand that change be made. There is a saying about the "squeaky wheel gets the grease."

gordoUSA · Joined: 29 Jul 2007 Posts: 203 Location: san antonio, TX

I remember "Dubya" as saying he was the "decider."

The president can also VETO excessive legislation he may deem not in the best interest of the country.

I agree, throw each and every congressman out of office every 4 years, that way they won't be there long enough to learn how to steal the country blind and line the pockets for both their own and supporters financial interest.

Doesn't make any difference what party they are from, makes no difference, just someone new.

mccfry · Joined: 03 Oct 2004 Posts: 190

Bush read maybe three sentences, before that letter wound up on the floor next to the waste paper basket.
[quote="Mackman"]Dear President Bush,

On behalf of America’s small business trucking professionals, I am writing to ask that you do all that you can to stabilize the cost of diesel fuel in our country. Along with the more than 160,000 members of OOIDA, small business truckers across the nation are suffering greatly from the erratic and escalating price of fuel. While I fully recognize that this is an extraordinarily difficult and complex problem to address, I believe that there are some measures within your Administration’s power that may be taken to alleviate tight domestic fuel markets and ultimately help to rein in fuel prices.

As you may know, small business truckers (operating 6 or fewer trucks) comprise close to 90 percent of the trucking industry. Considering that trucks account for the movement of 69 percent of all goods transported in the U.S. and are the only providers of goods to 75 percent of American communities, small business truckers are quite literally the backbone of our nation's economy. The cost of fuel is the single greatest operating expense with which small business truckers must contend. Volatile and often high fuel prices have devastated these businesses over the last several years. Thousands of trucking companies have not been able to survive. The corresponding loss of businesses has had an enormous impact on the freight hauling capacity of the trucking industry and its ability to address the needs of America’s manufacturers, shippers, and retailers.

Each time the price of fuel increases by 5 cents per gallon, a trucker’s annual costs increase by roughly $1,000. In just the past six months, the average price of diesel has climbed by more than 40 cents per gallon. This is an enormous burden on the small business trucker whose average annual income is $37,000 to $40,000. With strong demand, tight supplies and the rising cost of crude oil, the Department of Energy predicts that diesel prices will continue to rise well beyond former record highs. The urgency for action to help truckers survive grows with every additional cent they must pay at the fuel pump. The line between profit and loss for small truckers is getting thinner every day.

With consideration to the current prices of fuel, we ask that your Administration immediately cease the diversion of oil supplies to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) and instead allow that product to directly enter the marketplace. While most small business truckers understand the premise behind the SPR, it is very difficult for them to understand the Administration’s insistence on continuing to ship oil to the SPR at a time when all Americans are suffering from high fuel costs. Shipping oil to the SPR at this time only serves to exacerbate the already tight domestic fuel market. As was appropriately stated by several members of Congress in a recent letter to you, “Filling the SPR, without regard to crude oil prices and the availability of supplies, drives oil prices higher and ultimately hurts consumers.”

We also implore you to make use of your Administration’s authority and influence to ensure that American fuel producers and refiners cease their exports of diesel and biodiesel products to other nations. As you well know, with the intent to encourage and support the production and refinement of fuel for the domestic marketplace, those entities receive an extraordinary amount of taxpayer dollars in the form of grants, tax credits and other financial incentives. There is no justifiable reason those companies should accept American taxpayer incentives and then export their products. Actions such as that are nothing short of fraud. Every drop of fuel that has been subsidized by American taxpayers should be available only to American consumers.

The majority of OOIDA members have supported your efforts to encourage domestic production, including opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) and the outer continental shelf to drilling. Our members believe however, that the federal government should not be providing financial incentives to multi-billion dollar companies during a time when market factors provide more than sufficient encouragement for those entities to invest in expanding their domestic production and refinery efforts.

Mr. President, the hard-working truckers that drive the commerce of this country and make our nation competitive in the world marketplace need your support now more than ever.

Sincerely,

Jim Johnston
President[/quote]

Colts Fan · Joined: 10 Aug 2007 Posts: 519 Location: Indianapolis, IN

GMAN wrote: It is always easy to blame the president or an individual for the woes of this country. There is more involved than a single individual. Congress approved the merger of the major oil companies, most of which are now controlled by foreign interests. It is congress who has blocked further oil exploration and building of additional refineries in this country. It is congress who has discouraged alternative energy sources. Perhaps you should consider throwing out all of those career politicians and get some fresh blood in congress. It is ultimately the citizens who should demand that change be made. There is a saying about the "squeaky wheel gets the grease."

Liberal environmental extremist politicians are to be blamed the the woes we are now facing. There are several very very large newly found oil deposits that they will not let us explore. There has not been a new refinery constructed in this country in decades. Refineries generally take about 5 years to build, so we are way behind the curve on that. Our refineries today are currently running at 100% capacity or above. Anytime they are shut down for maintenence the gasoline prices will spike due to lack of supply. It should have been mandated years ago that refinery construction keep pace with population growth. All of you more experienced drivers can probably attest that there are many more vehicles on the road today than in the past. Yet, our refining capacity is stuck in the 1970's.

Another problem that, any people do not consider is the weak dollar. We would be paying less at the pump if our dollar wasn't worthless. Evertime our gov't bails out another mega bank or brokerage that made bad gambles with sub-prime mortgages and went under, everytime the gov't decides to give people "stimulus" payments with money it doesn't have, everytime the gov't subsidizes wothless alternative fuels such as ethanol, everytime the Federal Treasury lowers interest rates, the dollar loses value.

GMAN you are also right that part of it is due to speculators in the Futures markets that get spooked when there is an uprising in Nigeria. There was a report yesterday that prices went up because on of our ships fired in the direction of an Iranian ship.

Most of what it boils down to is simple supply vs. demand issues with a weak U.S. dollar. If you look around Europe, their prices haven't gone up at all (although they have historically had high prices).

Liberals out there need to learn about basic economics and stop blaming the oil companies who have nothing to do with setting the price.

gordoUSA · Joined: 29 Jul 2007 Posts: 203 Location: san antonio, TX

You must remember the oil companies CHOSE to shut down their refineries here. They have refused to invest back in America, and have chosen to relocate elsewhere in search of cheap labor, absolutely no enviromental laws and even more corrupt governments than our own.
Don't believe everything you hear from the oil indistries' multi-million dollar ad campaigns about the "enviromentalists" shutting down the oil industry here. If the American oil worker will work for $1.85 p/hr. they will drill more.

And each year Congress gives them more tax breaks. Seen any more oil being produced here? Nope. And your not going to either.

Another reason some European countries have higher gas prices is the gov't tax added to gas to pay for their health care systems and retirement programs.

Orangetxguy · Joined: 23 Jan 2007 Posts: 1472

gordoUSA wrote: Also remember: Condeleeza Rice came from the oil industry, only woman in the world with a super tanker named after her.

Also: President Karzhid (sp) of Afghanistan was also a oil excuetive for Chevron/Texaco, I believe it was, in Central Asia.

Surprised anyone?

Karzhi was an employee of UNOCAL (before he was appointed President of Afghanistan).....which was bought up by Chevron (they dropped TEXACO from the name 3 years ago). 8)

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