It depends on a lot of factors. Part of freight rate negotiation is also to get a fuel surcharge. A lot of the large carriers are not passing on the true fuel surcharge to the truck owners. For instance, Schneider is only passing on mid 30 cents per mile fuel surcharge. However, if calculated correctly (i.e. based on 5.5-6 mpg and a base fuel cost of 1.20/gal), the current fuel surcharge should be around .45/mile and going up weekly.

What the crop of steering wheel holders need to understand is that if they are getting the proper fuel surcharge, and if they get 1 mpg average better than the base line, they will in fact NET an extra $10K a year at current prices. They can in fact make more money the higher the fuel cost goes! I know it sounds crazy, but spreadsheets don't lie. So in a nut shell, for the owner/ops that want to play poll position at Daytona, they will go broke. For those that manage their time and speed, they will in fact net more per mile. The national stats are what they are...... there are many owner ops that are making more on less miles than last year or year before.

I average near 7 mpg with my semi (little less in winter months) which is almost 1.5 mpg better than the 5.5 mpg baseline that our fuel surcharge is calculated on. Therefore.... I will NET $10K - $15K more. From this standpoint, I say "let the fuel cost continue to go up". From a personal standpoint, it bothers me that the costs are rising so high. It only hurts everyone, not only in the fuel tank, but with everything they buy.

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Environmentalist Green + Socialist Red = Facist Brown

2006 Liberty CRD, Frankenlift II, Al's A Arms, Moog LBJ's, GDE tune, Etechno GX3123 Glow plugs, Fumoto drain valve, Elephant hose CCV mod.

Last Monday I filled up at 2.60 per gallon. Today I drove by the same station and it is 2.79-WTF!!

still $1 cheaper than here in PA

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Trevor

'05 Limited CRD Inferno Red Pearl Coat
Home made provent installed @ 35443, SEGR installed @ 35466, Fumoto valve @ 37500, trans and transfer case skid, In tank pump installed @ 43500, Suncoast TC & Transgo Shift Kit @ 44730, EGT, Boost, Trans temp gauges, Samco hoses, Rebuilt Trans w/ HD454RFE kit @ 56K, Inmotion Stage 2 @ 56K

My error in typing should have been 3.60 & 3.79

$4.09 today in Quakertown, PA

I saw Diesel from $3.55 to $3.69 at the pumps today. It is still too cold for the Farmers to start using Diesel in MN. I did notice stacked fire wood, so them must be using the fast way to returning the CO2 to the atmosphere instead of the slow way of letting it rot.




Steve

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2006 Pearl Green CRD
Magnaflow 2 1/2" Cat Back
KJ Extra Leg Room Brackets, Carter Lift Pump, V6 Airbox, ORM
Fuel cooler, Oil Separator, Progard 7
Gauges EGT Boost Trans Temp Oil Pres, Michelin LXT AT2 245 70 R16
7,000# Draw Tight hitch, PML EX Deep Trans Pan
Centrifuge, SunCoast, Transgo, RAM TCM, InMotion Stage 2
Wife's 99 TDI VW Beetle

While on vacation the cheapest place I found for diesel was in Spearfish, SD. I paid $3.38 at Safeway including the .03 cent a gallon discount.

Just filled up today. RUG 3.259 Diesel 3.739
Northport, Fl.

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06 Silver Liberty
EHM/SEGR
Fumoto Oil Drain
No rock climbing
No mudding
Hangs behind my
motorhome on tow bars. Semi-retired and still learning.

Hows THIS for F-ed up?

Georgia, usually the cheapest fuel in the entire country.. Last night: diesel 3.75-3.79, gas 3.15-3.19...

Into Florida, usually considerably MORE than Georgia - Diesel 3.65, gas 3.15.

Someone want to tell me exactly WTF is going on here to justify that?

And Reflex, the decline of the dollar and the gouging of the oil refiners is not a new thing. Yea, there IS a "bubble" happening in the prices and trading... But I'll bet you cash money that it's being driven by the ones who will be booking record profits again, right up to November. Then suddenly in early September, the prices will drop like a brick. It happened in 2000, again in 2004... It WILL happen again. And its not "market forces" or any "rise in demand" like the pundits keep spouting. Its raping the populace, pure and simple.

I love how when the prices increase they go up 0.15 to 0.20 a gallon in one jump, and when they go dwon, it's pennies at a time. And here diesel just jumped from $3.50 Wednesday to $3.75 Thursday...

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'05 Liberty CRD B100, SEGR - SOLD

'01 Beetle TDi B100, EGR delete
'83 Mercedes 240D B100, no EGR

--- SEGR Builder ---

Here at home it jumped $0.40 in the last month, must be that Global warming ain't working any more.

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2006 Pearl Green CRD
Magnaflow 2 1/2" Cat Back
KJ Extra Leg Room Brackets, Carter Lift Pump, V6 Airbox, ORM
Fuel cooler, Oil Separator, Progard 7
Gauges EGT Boost Trans Temp Oil Pres, Michelin LXT AT2 245 70 R16
7,000# Draw Tight hitch, PML EX Deep Trans Pan
Centrifuge, SunCoast, Transgo, RAM TCM, InMotion Stage 2
Wife's 99 TDI VW Beetle

The profits are only a 'record' if the value of those dollars is ignored. A dollar is worth slightly less than half of what it was 7 years ago, so a company that is international has to earn twice as many dollars to equal profits from seven years ago. Sure the numbers look big to us, but thats because our expenditures stay in the US and thus we are not exposed to international expenses like a multi-national corp is.

There is no evidence that the oil distributers are making more per gallon than they ever did before. There is plenty of evidence however that consumption is up, the dollar is down, and as Retmil points out, speculators are getting very wealthy.

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2006 Jeep Liberty Sport CRD

Here on Long Island diesel is $4.15 a gallon. Cant wait to see what it does during the summer driving months.

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Greg

Perhaps its time we seriously consider a LOST-based algae farm and biodiesel refinery...

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1998 VW New Beetle TDI & 2006 Jetta TDI Manual
No more: 2005 Stone White Liberty CRD
Powered in part by Biodiesel and Open Source Software.

Up to $4.19 in Summit just outside of Chicago. Went up from 3.89 to 4.19.

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2006 CRD Lt Khaki Limited
Heated Leather, Sun Roof

KC: Count me in for that! I'll donate my time for the development of the biodiesel conversion side of things, and I would LOVE to prove that all you need to do to extract the oil is crush the algae like you are pressing grapes. LMK when and where we are setting it up.

Give me some time. I've been discussing this with some of the locals, and given the co-op setup we have with some of their grants... we might be able to prototype a process and then "GPL-it" ... General Public Licensing, think Open Source software/Linux. What I've seen so far is locked down methods for sale, not what I feel biodiesel's all about. Biodiesel is like tobacco: you can pay RJ to roll it for you, or get off your behind and grow/roll it on your own (not that I've really done the latter).

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1998 VW New Beetle TDI & 2006 Jetta TDI Manual
No more: 2005 Stone White Liberty CRD
Powered in part by Biodiesel and Open Source Software.

Up to 72 cents higher now!

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Sold 05 CRD Patriot Blue, hole in the roof, Trailer tow, factory skids, LSD, Saris load bars, Michelin LTX M/S
Current Bright white 2010 Dakota Quad Cab 4x4 V8

RUG $3.05 and up
Diesel $3.49 and up

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Founder of L.O.S.T.
2006 CRD Sport
Mods: GDE Hot Tune w/ 364#@2000rpm/Air Box /3" Str8 Exhaust/ASFIR Alum Skids/245-75R-16 Cooper STT PRO/OME LIFT w/Clevis & 4 Spring Isos/AirTabs/Rigid 10" S2 LED/4xGuard Ctr Matrix Bumper
Drag Strip:Reac=.1078_60ft=2.224_1/8=10.39@64.8mph_1/4+16.46@80.8mph

$3.89, $3.99 for Diesel last night in Addison, TX (dallas).

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'05 Liberty CRD
'05 Jaguar S-Type R