Letters to the Editor: Difficult Times
img src="/sites/default/files/images/articles/printeditiontag_new.gif" width=120 align=right>I own a small trucking company, and if some relief from these fuel prices doesn’t come soon, I’ll never survive.
I have owned my company for two years and have borrowed against everything I own. I put my blood and sweat into this business, because this is my dream. I know there is a way to make a living in the trucking industry.
Theresa Landauer
andauer Trucking
lbion, Neb.
I am a wife of a truck driver and also dispatch for other drivers. Diesel fuel prices are rising to a point where it is actually going to cost them to make a living rather than pay them.
My heart goes out to each and every driver in the United States. I hope they can hold out for the duration of this difficult time. The owner-operator is getting pushed aside, but all he wants to do is make a decent living for himself and his family. Give us a break, Congress, and please help lower fuel prices. Help the little people.
Billie Bowling
I>Philpot, Ky.
It is extremely naive to suggest that carriers “join together” and raise rates 10% [as a letter from Quebec suggested]. There is a little thing called antitrust to consider.
Unfortunately, the very deregulation of rates that has so benefited the American consumer over the years has crippled, or at least severely hurt, some of our core industries. Look what it has done for the airline and telecom industries. Did we ever think we would see ATT teetering on the verge of bankruptcy or dissolution? The trucking industry is no different.
Those of us in the business realize the ease with which trucking companies can come into existence, run freight for minimal or no profit and depress the market for legitimate carriers. We all want the best rate and the best service. The companies that continue to drive cost out of their system and maintain quality will be the ones to survive and thrive in this new “global economy.”
Andrew Walker
I>Account Executive
aylight Transport
ong Beach, Calif.
This article appears in the Feb. 24 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.
