Anyone else upset about the price of fuel lately?
 

I seem to remember someone else talking about it on here this summer. I have a very aggressive fuel surcharge based on 5mpg and as fuel soared so did my profits as I get better than 7mpg.

So now fuel is getting cheaper everyday and shows no signs of slowing. I can't be the only one upset can I?

Originally Posted by marylandkw:
I seem to remember someone else talking about it on here this summer. I have a very aggressive fuel surcharge based on 5mpg and as fuel soared so did my profits as I get better than 7mpg.

So now fuel is getting cheaper everyday and shows no signs of slowing. I can't be the only one upset can I?

Don't worry it will rise again ,and higher than $4.50-5.00 a gallon just be patient it should'nt be too long .

Originally Posted by marylandkw:
I seem to remember someone else talking about it on here this summer. I have a very aggressive fuel surcharge based on 5mpg and as fuel soared so did my profits as I get better than 7mpg.

So now fuel is getting cheaper everyday and shows no signs of slowing. I can't be the only one upset can I?

I too have taken a big hit since fuel has gone down,damn commies.

The f.s.c. is not as bad as no freight. I was telling my daughter about 2 months ago, that if fuel/gas prices start falling fast like everyone wants... it wont be a good sign. now she understands a lil about the economy. when the fuel was high , I always had plenty of freight. I really did not mind having to work more to make up for the higher operating cost as long as the work was available. besides, I think for most of us the fuel was not the only or even the biggest problem. It was everything else combined, groceries, tires, truck part's, utility bills, property tax, e.t.c.

Originally Posted by BIG JEEP on 44's:
Don't worry it will rise again ,and higher than $4.50-5.00 a gallon just be patient it should'nt be too long .

I don't know if you are serious or not but I sure hope you are right. I like $4.25 or better. I know I am being selfish and not thinking about the bigger impact to the economy and such but I get to be selfish once in a while!

Originally Posted by heavyhaulerss:
The f.s.c. is not as bad as no freight. I was telling my daughter about 2 months ago, that if fuel/gas prices start falling fast like everyone wants... it wont be a good sign. now she understands a lil about the economy. when the fuel was high , I always had plenty of freight. I really did not mind having to work more to make up for the higher operating cost as long as the work was available. besides, I think for most of us the fuel was not the only or even the biggest problem. It was everything else combined, groceries, tires, truck part's, utility bills, property tax, e.t.c.

That is kinda the stinger on the whole situation right now. My FSC's have come down but my tires, oil changes and other parts are still expensive. I work on annual contracts(lucky I guess) and many come due at the end of December for 09'. I am already crunching numbers and trying to figure out what to do with my rates.....Fun for sure :(

It isn't just the fsc that has dropped. Freight rates have also dropped. Even if you take away the fsc from the rates from a couple of months ago rates were still higher than now. Several things are in play. This is a slower time of year for most types of freight other than the typical seasonal runs such as mail, Christmas trees, etc., We shall see if the slow down reflects on lower demand for capacity between now and the end of the year. The economy is generally down from a few months ago. Decreased demand and owner operators and carriers who are willing to haul for peanuts has resulted in lower rates. Some shippers and brokers are taking advantage of the situation and racking up their bank accounts at the expense of the truck owner. Fuel gave everyone an excuse to raise their rates without confronting the real issue, cheap rates.

I just got an early Christmas present today when I found out that all the FSC on the military stuff I haul dropped from 15% to 4%. What used to be a $325 FSC is now a $93 FSC. That friggin sucks.

Not seeing rates drop that much in neck of the woods... XMAS tree rates are down a little this year, but our nursery loads are fine.... But nursery loads pay a bit more as there is more time and stops involved.

Originally Posted by Rev.Vassago:
I just got an early Christmas present today when I found out that all the FSC on the military stuff I haul dropped from 15% to 4%. What used to be a $325 FSC is now a $93 FSC. That friggin sucks.

Who did the math to determine the FSC Rev?? Did LandStar hire a certain someone formerly associated with this forum?? :hellno::hellno::hellno::hellno::hellno:

Originally Posted by BigDiesel:
Not seeing rates drop that much in neck of the woods... XMAS tree rates are down a little this year, but our nursery loads are fine.... But nursery loads pay a bit more as there is more time and stops involved.

My nursery loads are close to what they were in the spring, but not as many of them available. There are some who have been coming in trying to cut the rate. We chose not to participate in the rate auction. Of course, the rates have come down somewhat due to the lower fsc. Most everything else has seen a decline.

Originally Posted by Rev.Vassago:
I just got an early Christmas present today when I found out that all the FSC on the military stuff I haul dropped from 15% to 4%. What used to be a $325 FSC is now a $93 FSC. That friggin sucks.

Merry Christmas!! :thumbsdown: Cheer up. This won't last forever.

Originally Posted by Orangetxguy:
Who did the math to determine the FSC Rev?? Did LandStar hire a certain someone formerly associated with this forum?? :hellno::hellno::hellno::hellno::hellno:

I swear it was. I was dumbfounded when I found that out.

Originally Posted by Rev.Vassago:
I swear it was. I was dumbfounded when I found that out.

DOD adjusted the cost basis from 1.40 per gal. to 2.50 per gal. about a year ago, are you saying they chopped it again?

I'm not sure. But I hauled a military load at the end of October, and got $325.50 FSC on a 775 mile run. I hauled the same load yesterday, and got $93. In that time, the price of fuel did not drop that much.

Originally Posted by GMAN:
Merry Christmas!! :thumbsdown: Cheer up. This won't last forever.

Promise?

I am fortunate in that I negotiate most of my rates once a year and add a FSC of my own design onto them. So my "base" rates have not dropped but I sure miss my FSC. I guess this is one of the good things about being Local.

Originally Posted by Rev.Vassago:
I'm not sure. But I hauled a military load at the end of October, and got $325.50 FSC on a 775 mile run. I hauled the same load yesterday, and got $93. In that time, the price of fuel did not drop that much.

I can't say for sure but I think Dawn and the others were supplementing the fsc when fuel shot up, this was after the DOD did their thing. My guess is the agents quit doing that when fuel went back down, I won't haul DOD unless the fsc reflects the regular rate, it just isn't worth it.

Originally Posted by GMAN:
It isn't just the fsc that has dropped. Freight rates have also dropped. Even if you take away the fsc from the rates from a couple of months ago rates were still higher than now.

It's the same ol' deal here. Real rates have fallen a little but not as much as I thought. When I took the fuel out of the equation, they were still $2.70/loaded mile compared to 6 month low of $2.50. My rates don't really get too low anyway because I just park 'em. I expect Jan, Feb to be bad tho.

It might be good for you guys but high fuel is what really gave this economic downturn a kick into high gear. I know I stopped spending when diesel got outrageous. (two of my trucks are diesel and my wifes is a 454 chevy :lol:)Heating oil is still high and that will stop me from spending as well.
Matter of fact I ran out of fuel last week (I wasn't paying attention) so I grab a few buckets and go get 20 gallons of diesel to put in the tank till I could a delivery and it turns out diesel is now cheaper than heating oil. WTF!

So in the long run I don't think high fuel benefits anyone, and I still say you can't have growth with high energy prices, it stifles it.

I think you are correct about the high fuel prices, RostyC. The problem we are seeing now is that freight rates have declined faster than the drop in fuel prices. That coupled with the slower freight has made it difficult to make as much money. With the slow economy people are not buying as much so there isn't the need for as many trucks to haul the freight. Unless people buy products there is not a need to replenish supplies. I think high fuel costs are the primary reason for the slow down. The banking problems are only a by product or effect.

I agree GMAN,and I think it wouldn't be as bad if the media would tone it down a bit. A lot of this psychological I think. People get cautious and hold there money some people lose their jobs, that's reported and more people hold their money and more people lose their jobs and so on. It's a tailspin that will be broke when things get cheap enough that people can't resist the temptation to buy, then we start the upward cycle again.

I think cheap energy will help to spur the upward cycle, as well as cheaper food prices, which should start coming down here eventually. There recouping some of the money they lost when fuel went up drastically.

Originally Posted by RostyC:
So in the long run I don't think high fuel benefits anyone, and I still say you can't have growth with high energy prices, it stifles it.

I think you are right on Rosty and I am pretty sure at some place in this thread I even said I was being selfish and narrow minded. I just want my FSC BACK! (pouts)

Originally Posted by marylandkw:
I think you are right on Rosty and I am pretty sure at some place in this thread I even said I was being selfish and narrow minded. I just want my FSC BACK! (pouts)

:lol: I know it probably does suck. Hey, did you get the plow set up for your truck?

Originally Posted by RostyC:
I agree GMAN,and I think it wouldn't be as bad if the media would tone it down a bit.

I think the media hype has had a lot to do with what is going on and was primarily the catalyst in getting the bail out through. They scared people who were afraid they were going to lose their 401k's and they started calling congress to bail them out. Media used to report the news. Today they seem to be the ones who make the news. :pissedoff:

I agree with GMAN and Rosty. I am not hurting for money but when gas started to rise above 3 dollars a gallon I really stopped spending money on stuff I really didn't need. I have a chevy avalanche and at the time when gas was 4.15 it was taking me at least a 102.00 a fill up and thats every two weeks. Now take it for instance a guy making 10 bucks an hour and he is spending almost half of his salary on gas you don't think that will soon hurt the overall economy when half if not more is going to gas and home heating oil. There will be no need to go to WALLY WORLD and spend on stuff you really don't need because you can't afford to do it anymore. I am going to go out on a limb and say this if the politicians want this economy to move soon give every taxpayer at least 5 to 10,000 dollars tax free and lets see how people spend that money. Giving these corporations money is not going to solve the problem because if people don't have the money to spend then they are not going to buy anything I will not. They think buy giving corporations money it will have a twickle down effect i don't think so. Last, ford can make a nice fuel effecient car that cost 15,000 but if no one has the money or means to get that car then the sells fall in the toilet because no one is buying anything. Thats the situation we are in no one is really wanting to spend money because we don't know if we will even have a job tomorrow or just don't have the money to spend.

I made more money when our FSC was .50 cpm. Now that it's .22 cpm the profits are lower. A lot of people don't understand how if fuel is cheaper, why are we making less money? It's a no win situation out there....

Originally Posted by luckyky00:
I made more money when our FSC was .50 cpm. Now that it's .22 cpm the profits are lower. A lot of people don't understand how if fuel is cheaper, why are we making less money? It's a no win situation out there....

Yeah, you're right, when fuel was $4.00 plus , our fuel surcharge was .58 plus, now it's at .22, made more money when fuel was higher.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA When it was going up many was complaining cause it was going up, i lost 2 jobs cause it went up, now it going down your complaining it going down.. HAHAHAHAHA Sorry I just have to laugh.

Forget about the FSC, work on getting your cost of Operating down, and freight charges up. Years ago, not that far in the past FSC did not assist, and truckers made money.

I wonder how all those people who were calling for truck strikes earlier this year are doing right now?

Originally Posted by luckyky00:
I made more money when our FSC was .50 cpm. Now that it's .22 cpm the profits are lower. A lot of people don't understand how if fuel is cheaper, why are we making less money? It's a no win situation out there....

The fsc is only masking the real issue which is cheap rates. We need higher rates rather than relying on a fsc to make money. It is almost like a shell game. It makes some feel better when they get a nice fsc. Don't get me wrong, the fsc does help balance the books, but it is a farce. Carriers don't seem to want to address the real problem and that is cheap rates. The issue is that there are those who have nothing to sell but a cheap rate and that brings rates down for everyone when each one lowers their prices to meet or beat the competition. I have never tried to play the cheap freight game. It is a game that when you win you lose.