Okay. Never mind the O/Os then. If the companies get the fuel surcharge to compensate for higher fuel cost, then what are they doing wrong? This surcharge should keep them afloat.

How am I wrong?

the guys who say the higher fuel goes, the more they profit are full of crap. the only way that would be true if is the fuel surcharge was way more than the extra fuel cost, so like you said, the surcharge should keep them afloat, but it's not going to make them rich like a few on here have claimed. if you have a truck that gets really good mileage, you may come out a little ahead on the surcharge.

I may have not phrased my questions correctly. I'm not concerned about the O/O's other than to refer to them and how a fuel surcharge can keep them from going under.

Why can't a company operate under the same plan; collecting a surcharge to keep from operating in the red?

I've wondered the same thing, perhaps when the mega carriers made the deals to buy fuel at a certain price for the next few years, they didnt think it would go this high and cant get enough surcharge?
the company I work for is relatively small and they are doing okay, the surcharge isnt increasing profits, but it is keeping us alive..
a lot of it comes down to good business sense, the owner of the company I work for comes in every day except Sunday and works 5 am to 7 pm, he does all the load booking, does all the dispatching and knows where every penny goes. I used to think he was foolish for working so hard and not taking it easy and enjoying his money, but now I think he is pretty smart.

Fredog, the higher fuel goes the more I make. Crap? To a company driver it would appear so.

And to the OP in the first post-

I don't know one owner operator that CAN'T afford one. Thermo King was gonna finance one for me for less than 300/mo. 10 hrs idling is about 60 bones, or 5 nights out of a month. Of course, I wrote a check for 8500 and was done with the deal because I roll like that 8)

so if fuel goes to a hundred dollars a gallon, you will be a millionaire?

Of course not, but I won't be out of business.

BanditsCousin wrote:
and...you will probably see a return on the investment in less than a year. Depending on the frequency of your time spent in the sleeper.

Thermo King's website said 11 months :lol:

I have a tendency to spend quite a bit of time in the sleeper when I'm at the tradeshows. 12 hrs isn't unheard of. After doing that in Vegas (idling)for a few months I took the hit and got one. Prior to the APU, I had an Espar heater for heat, so I was partly there.