With high cost of diesel, let's park them

[IC Smoke]

I just put 1400 in wheels and tires, plus motor mods around the same price but I also just cleaned the garage enough to park the beast in. a sweet 94 chrysler concord for 500. 00 is my everyday driver now :{ I dont want to park my truck but Ive got to do it, the miles and fuel cost is killer.





Ian

 

[SHobbs]

I work for Union Pacific and we have seen a jump in business mostly due to the high cost of fuel. The trucking industry can't compete with the rr's due to more tonnage per mile. It is just a matter of time before the cost of living goes through the roof due to the higher fuel costs. With the increase in traffic and the capacity restraints on the rails there will ultimately be shipping delays which won't help things any. Everything in our daily lives depends on some form of transportation, dining out, groceries and such. I think we have seen the tip of the ice berg and it won't get any better. The best thing you can do right now is what alot of people are doing cut back and get the most out of every dollar you spend. The U. S gov is the largest organized crime ring in the world and they don't give a rats a** about the tax payers.

 

[Grizzly]

I work for Union Pacific and we have seen a jump in business mostly due to the high cost of fuel. The trucking industry can't compete with the rr's due to more tonnage per mile. It is just a matter of time before the cost of living goes through the roof due to the higher fuel costs. With the increase in traffic and the capacity restraints on the rails there will ultimately be shipping delays which won't help things any. Everything in our daily lives depends on some form of transportation, dining out, groceries and such. I think we have seen the tip of the ice berg and it won't get any better. The best thing you can do right now is what alot of people are doing cut back and get the most out of every dollar you spend. The U. S gov is the largest organized crime ring in the world and they don't give a rats a** about the tax payers.

Excellent comment. I like the idea of more RR shippig and less truck shipping. Makes sense.

 

[SHobbs]

Grizzly,



It just makes sense, every rail car is built to handle a 286k gross rail load. Take a box car that weighs 60k empty and you can put over 200k in that puppy. That's about what 5 trucks per car. I think we will see alot of the little guys go down first then the big guys will have to fight it out. If the fuel prices ever come down we will then be left very few shippers, very little competion and still high costs due to the fact that they will try to recoup their losses.

As far as the rails consider this, we have alot of coal trains come through Ft Worth. Each train is 135 cars with three engines, 2 in the lead 1 on the rear ( pusher ). These trains are around 7300ft long and tip the scale at over 19,000 tons. What we call junk trains which are a mix of everything usually run around 6k to 7k ft long and weigh up tp 12,000 tons. The rails are also the fastest way to get containers from the L. A ports across the country. The one problem with the rails is capacity and congestion, we have alot traffic right now and it's not as easy to take a short cut like the freeways. Sometimes we can't go 197 miles in 12 hours or even 30 miles in that time frame. Will be interesting to see what the next few months will bring if fuel prices keep climbing.

 

[y-knot]

Boycotts will do nothing, there are just way to many people that need fuel. Besides the media always makes boycotter's look totally stupid. Yes we as a nation have become way to dependent on the oil supplied by others. Look at the national average, Americans are way too FATT. We have take the car/truck for any and everything, even if it's just a few blocks to the local store, Why? We are simply LAZY, and have become soft, spoiled by the riches of our nation and others. America is the Number one consumer of gasoline and Diesel fuel right now, but all that is about to change with China getting tooled up and becoming more industrialized. In the next several years they will not only become the worlds largest consumer of fossil fuels, but also the largest consumer of automobiles and trucks. Something has to give, their is only so many resources available to the worlds population, and the people who control those assets (Arabs) are only willing to pump so much at a time. Europe is already paying 4-5 dollars a gallon for diesel and 6-7 dollar a gallon for gasoline, these figures are our tomorrow. I along with many others fully expect fuel prices to double in the next 2-3 years. As a nation, we will be forced to make drastic changes in the way we consume fossil fuels. Mass transit system will need to be expanded, and automakers will be forced to re-think the way they build and engineer their products. We will also be forced to change the things many of us find dear, like RVing, boating and many other sport or activity that requires fuel.

Another by-product of high fuel cost is a reduction of expendable funds, we simply will not be able to buy the things we would like to have, or go the places we would like to go because the high price of fuel has taken a larger share of the pie. Industries such as the RVing industry, may very well fold under the pressure of higher fuel prices. At the very least, it's safe to assume they will suffer a huge lost in future sales. The boating industry is in the same messy situation, along with the ATV/Motorcycle industry and several other similar businesses. Along with the depressed wages that have plagued Americans for so long, I don't see a very bright future. Everything is going up while many bring home the same amount or less, you have to have a job to buy the gas, but you need the gas to get a job.

While most can see that the very near future looks much different then what we would like too see, I wounder and worry about the next generation and their kids.

 

[lmills]

Well, I know most can not afford to do it. However what I did to help ease the pain is change my work schedule. I used to run to the office 100 miles round trip 5 times a week and check on the job sites at different times of the day. I was averaging about $75-80 a week. With the increase I am around $100 a week in fuel. I dropped my work schedule back to 4 days a week and run all my errands at one time instead of splitting them up. I am back to about $75-80 a week again. I will probably continue to do this till things stabilize.

 

[ndurbin]

Reducing our dependance on crude oil and using more ethanol, biodiesel, or veggie oil is the key. But at the current time theres not enough infastructure to do a complete switch over so blends will have to suffice for the time. I buy alternative fuels when I get the chance, just not many chances around here yet.



Nathan

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

Boycotts will do nothing, there are just way to many people that need fuel. Besides the media always makes boycotter's look totally stupid. Yes we as a nation have become way to dependent on the oil supplied by others. Look at the national average, Americans are way too FATT. We have take the car/truck for any and everything, even if it's just a few blocks to the local store, Why? We are simply LAZY, and have become soft, spoiled by the riches of our nation and others. America is the Number one consumer of gasoline and Diesel fuel right now, but all that is about to change with China getting tooled up and becoming more industrialized. In the next several years they will not only become the worlds largest consumer of fossil fuels, but also the largest consumer of automobiles and trucks. Something has to give, their is only so many resources available to the worlds population, and the people who control those assets (Arabs) are only willing to pump so much at a time. Europe is already paying 4-5 dollars a gallon for diesel and 6-7 dollar a gallon for gasoline, these figures are our tomorrow. I along with many others fully expect fuel prices to double in the next 2-3 years. As a nation, we will be forced to make drastic changes in the way we consume fossil fuels. Mass transit system will need to be expanded, and automakers will be forced to re-think the way they build and engineer their products. We will also be forced to change the things many of us find dear, like RVing, boating and many other sport or activity that requires fuel.

Another by-product of high fuel cost is a reduction of expendable funds, we simply will not be able to buy the things we would like to have, or go the places we would like to go because the high price of fuel has taken a larger share of the pie. Industries such as the RVing industry, may very well fold under the pressure of higher fuel prices. At the very least, it's safe to assume they will suffer a huge lost in future sales. The boating industry is in the same messy situation, along with the ATV/Motorcycle industry and several other similar businesses. Along with the depressed wages that have plagued Americans for so long, I don't see a very bright future. Everything is going up while many bring home the same amount or less, you have to have a job to buy the gas, but you need the gas to get a job.

While most can see that the very near future looks much different then what we would like too see, I wounder and worry about the next generation and their kids.

I fully expect that this country - and other major ones caught in the fallout - will pretty much crash and burn to the very foundations before much of the above occurs - the economy simply can't withstand that degree of abuse and survive - then the domino effect will set in - get ready for a VERY rough ride over the next decade...



Our potential for survival as a NATION was squandered by stubborn reliance upon foreign energy - and refusal to develop the alternatives we KNEW would eventually be needed - now, that time is past, along with the likelihood of survival. Now we had best focus on INDIVIDUAL survival - because the COUNTRY has about had it...

 

[Oasis-3]

I think you could do more by everyone stop buying fuel from one of the big fuel supplyers.

Just think what would happen if all the truckers stopped buying fuel at Flying J or Petro for a week or two.

You would think they would drop there price in order to sell there fuel again. As of now I just pass the cost on as much as I can.



Cliff

 

[hammersley]

Thanks GOP for these $$$$$$$$$$$$$

And yes, adding any more refining capacity to CA is pretty much out of bounds. (Environmental concerns).



And these guys did nothing to try and get around this... ... ..... you COULD BUILD a refinery in 18 months in Mexico!!!! But why do that and take away any fake argument!



This is nothing but GREED!!!! A Prime example of how capitalism will eat it' young. Remember so many love big business - well how do we like thess apples????? These guys should be Federalized!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Grizzly]

I fully expect that this country - and other major ones caught in the fallout - will pretty much crash and burn to the very foundations before much of the above occurs - the economy simply can't withstand that degree of abuse and survive - then the domino effect will set in - get ready for a VERY rough ride over the next decade...



Our potential for survival as a NATION was squandered by stubborn reliance upon foreign energy - and refusal to develop the alternatives we KNEW would eventually be needed - now, that time is past, along with the likelihood of survival. Now we had best focus on INDIVIDUAL survival - because the COUNTRY has about had it...

Gary, you painted a gloomy picture here, but you are right. I don't know what it's going to take or who is going to lead us out of this mess, but I agree with you, it's going to take a long time and the best we can do is look out for ourself by conserving as much as possible. This country will come back and the economy will see black ink again, but it's going to take new and strong leadership that we lack right now. I don't want to turn this into a political war.