Trucking and the Flow of Fuel

There are many types of fuels besides that gasoline we put in our cars and use to cruise around. It is only the first that come to mind when we think of fuel; "Gasoline" for my car. What about "Diesel Fuel" for trucks? It is a huge amount of fuel. Think how many trucks there are on the road? All the independent truck drivers with those fancy rigs getting just about 5 mile per gallon depending on terrain, loads, speed and wind. Then of course the huge fleets of the grocery chains and giant companies like Wal-Mart. You have Publix, Albertson's, HEB, Kroger and Piggly Wiggly, which all with enormous fleets of their own. Then you have the large contract carriers like Swift, JB Hunt, Werner, Covenant, US Express, Dick Simon, etc. and the LTL Carriers? Less then Load Companies with gargantuan fleets and even with all the consolidation of companies like; Fed Ex Ground buying up Viking, American Freightways and others to form the third largest LTL; the mega merger of Roadway and Yellow Freight; the bankruptcy of Consolidated Freightways; these fleets have continued to buy fuel to get the products to market, deliver the materials and components to keep the world's economies turning. All this is made possible because the fuel is readily available at price threshold that is livable. Without it America stops.

There is a saying in the trucking industry with those that accuse the truckers from getting on the freeways and holding up traffic;

"If you take the trucks off the road the shelves in the stores will be empty in four days,"

this makes truck drivers and the trucking industry feel good about themselves, so it serves a purpose. The truth is the shelves would be totally empty in 5.5 days and people would starve within the following week. Three weeks and there would be anarchy in the streets, yes even the middle class suburbs. At that point you might just wish to have a friend who drives a truck, because the new world order would be that of "Road Warrior." If you look at the huge moving company trucks with this latest housing rocket ship, lay offs causing people to move to other accommodations, enrollment peaks as those laid off go back to school, you a large market sector using more fuel. And really we are just scratching the surface of trucking and surface transportation where the tires meet the road.

"Lance Winslow" - If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs