Truckers threaten strike!!!

[brojcol]

http://www.qctimes.com/articles/2008/03/19/news/iowa/doc47e03e9ea03bd427238845.txt?sPos=3

[TomC]

Personally I think we should do what Mexico does and have the oil companies be government run.  Then we know exactly what the price of the fuel is since all Pemex stations are priced the same.  In my book, there is no reason for a company to make profits in excess of $40,000,000,000.00 (40 billion).  Especially when our economy is based so heavily on petroleum products.  I live in L.A. which is the most spread out city in the world, with probably the worst mass transit system.  I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt that I would continue to drive if the prices went to $10/gallon-along with the majority of people-meaning we're car bound.  I wish our government would step in and lower the prices back down.  I know I'd be satisfied with a $.50/gallon reduction-and stay there for some time.  Course too, the car companies could jump in also with cars that get better fuel mileage-read turbo-diesels.  The Mini gets about 35 mpg with gas and close to 50 with Diesel (although the Diesel isn't going to be imported).  The Smart For2 gets about 42mpg with gas and around 60 with Diesel.  There is a Diesel Hybrid being designed that will get close to 80mpg-now that's what I call a good commuter car.  Good Luck, TomC

[Busted Knuckle]

I wish I could say it will work. But having been in the trucking & Bus industry all my life, I know it won't! The only way it will work is if the majority of the industry shuts down for just a day or 2 mayb 3 at the most. But that will never happen, the major companies will not join & most of the independents won't either.
The big companies won't for 2 reasons #1) they are affraid they will lose their big contracts with their shippers & receivers & #2) they think that if the others shut down they will be able to take over more contracts.
The independants won't shut down crying that they can't afford too because they got payments to make and families to feed. And I know they do, back when I was an O/O trucker I had the same worries. But I also knew that if enough of us banded together we would be heard. The banks don't want to REPO all those trucks they did that back in the late 90's and got stuck with tons of them! And many also see it as the oppertunity to get some loyality (yeah right) out of some shippers and receivers if they keep hauling when others shut down.
The company drivers won't join in because they are afraid they will be fired (again yeah right) as if there isn't already a major shortage of good quality drivers anyway!
We tried to do several shut downs in the late 90's and it was the same stories over and over! The last ime it worked successfully was back in the 70's when the teamsters did it and they had drivers scared not to shut down! Unfortunitly yes violance was involved back then, but the guberment & the public heard the demands and things changed for a little while. FWIW  BK  

[kyle4501]

Personally I think we should do what Mexico does and have the oil companies be government run.  Then we know exactly what the price of the fuel is since all Pemex stations are priced the same.  In my book, there is no reason for a company to make profits in excess of $40,000,000,000.00 (40 billion). 
. . . .  Good Luck, TomC

Right, like the gubbermint can do anything more efficiently. Aren't the taxes already higher than the proffits? ? ?

The bigger the company, the bigger the proffits should be. Ain't that what made this country great?

Bill gates didn't get all his $$$$$ without healthy profits. So what's the difference between big oil & microsoft?

A good marketing campaign works wonders at keeping the customers in line with cash in hand . . .


Yes, I did like the lower prices. No, I didn't expect them to stay low, especially after 'they' got us addicted to using the product.

My in-laws bought their house based on walking distance to work so he wouldn't have to pay for gas. He never allowed himself to get addicted to cheap gas, so the higher price is more of an inconvenience than anything now.

How many are willing to buy a house & base their planned activities on walking distance? Most have bought into the marketing ploy that you don't have to plan ahead - you can just drive anywhere at anytime. It is hard to get away from that way of thinking.

To me, that is my biggest problem - not being able to plan ahead. When I try, it seems I'm swimming up stream. 

There are several that I could car-pool with to work, but they don't want the inconvience because it would take longer to get home from work! 

With that attitude, say hello to $10+ per gallon!

[brojcol]

OK, do you guys really think gas will go up to 10$ a gallon?

I just saw a mass transit bus in our parking lot with only three people on it.  I can't see us going that way. 

I think the best idea is to increase fuel efficiency in our automobiles.  Wouldn't be so bad to pay 10$ a gallon if you got 100 mpg.

[Melbo]

Wouldn't you think that a company that made 40 billion profit would want to do more business?

Then why don't they?

Maybe someone or some thing is stopping them!!!!!!

GEE I wonder who would stop some company from getting more oil or energy out of the ground and stop them from building refineries to make gas and oil out of the stuff they got out of the ground.

Find what is stopping them and get rid of that and we get more gas and oil.

What a concept.

Melbo

[ktmossman]

In my book, there is no reason for a company to make profits in excess of $40,000,000,000.00 (40 billion).

Wow... I don't know what business you are in, but that statement is very dangerous.  Who should get to decide how much profit is "too much"?  Should we allow someone to audit your company every year and decide if you made too much profit?

If you have an issue with that $$$ figure, your problem is with the people who paid that much money for petroleum products.  All the company did was maximize the investment of its' shareholders and return the highest possible profit (which the market would support) for their risk.  ...kinda like what I hope the companies in my 401(k) plan do for me.  To say that the profit is "too much" is to advocate taking the stock earnings away from my grandmother, the pension plans, etc. that have invested in those companies.  And frankly, my grandmother scrapes by on her retirement so I bet she would be just a little offended.

Do I have an issue with the price fixing by OPEC?  Yup! Do I have an issue with Uncle Sam taking 40+% of every fuel $ I spend?  Yup!  But penalizing a company for legal maximizing shareholder value...no way.

BTW, look at their profit margin as opposed to the net $$$.  You might surprise yourself.

[belfert]

As far as oil company profits go, yes, the dollar amount is huge, but their profit margin is not all that great at only around 10%.  Their total revenues are sky high which is why the profit is so high in dollars.

I would certainly love to pay less for fuel, but consider if oil companies made zero profit that the cost of fuel would decrease less than 10% since the fuel taxes don't change.

[DrivingMissLazy]

I really think that the majority of people need to understand that when a company is in business to make a profit then the general rule is "Price of the product is based on what the traffic (customer) will bear" not on the cost to produce and deliver the product.

Richard

[HighTechRedneck]

As far as oil company profits go, yes, the dollar amount is huge, but their profit margin is not all that great at only around 10%.  Their total revenues are sky high which is why the profit is so high in dollars.

I would certainly love to pay less for fuel, but consider if oil companies made zero profit that the cost of fuel would decrease less than 10% since the fuel taxes don't change.

I'm afraid that I don't buy the 10% margin story.  SOMEBODY, is making a 100% higher margin this year than 4 years ago and I think it is fairly certain the cost of getting it out of the ground didn't double in four years.  And the cost of refining it didn't double in four years.

It has been pointed out recently in other threads that investors have gotten heavily involved in the crude oil commodities market.  Until that bubble bursts and they move on to something else, I think this trend will continue.  Once they do move on, maybe then it will get back to a supply and demand market again. 

Then again maybe not.  For a long time, the industry was certain that there would be a threshold where consumers would cut back and so they worked hard to keep from crossing the $1/gallon at the pump threshold.  Then they feared the $2/gal. threshold.  When demand went up and prices neared $2 per gallon at the pump, OPEC would nervously increase output to avoid crossing that threshold.   When retail prices crossed the $2 threshold and people didn't cut back, they gained confidence that nothing would lower volume.  Now, OPEC stands solid that they won't increase output because they know they own us.  Bot figuratively and literally.

[Stan]

This is a dangerous subject for this board. Once it turns political, you know that flame wars will start and people will have hurt feelings.

Knowledge is wonderful, so post all the hard facts that you have, but most personal opinions just tend to cloud the issue. Great conflicting opinions can be read in the books by Adam Smith and Karl Marx.

[lostagain]

I think the only thing an individual can do is cut down on consumption. 60mph instead on 75, less iddling, etc. When comes time to trade, get a truck or car that uses less fuel. Maybe you don't really need all that power. Passing on the cost of fuel to the end-user is the only way. I know it is hard to do in such a competitive trucking industry, but that's all one can do. An economic slow down will also take the sails out of fuel demand. In our capitalist economic system, the only way to reduce prices is to reduce demand. The only way the government should be involved is by cutting back fuel taxes. Because they pig out on the sale of fuel as much as the oil companies do.

[Eagle]

GREED GREED and GREED I believe this is the problem.  How many company's have moved their operations South or to China to increase profits?  They don't care about this country or anything else just themselves.  It is the same with Exon-Mobile, GREED GREED. When CEO's gets MILLIONS of dollars in bonuses something is wrong and it is with us stockholders.  We don't care as long as the dividends keep comming.  We Americans will not unite and stick together.  Look at all of the posts about this subject.  EXCUSES EXCUSES why something will not work.

[jjrbus]

GREED GREED and GREED .  We Americans will not unite and stick together.  Look at all of the posts about this subject.  EXCUSES EXCUSES why something will not work.

We really are a spineless lot, our forefathers would be deeply ashamed.

[Cary and Don]

We bumped into a tv network called LinkTv on Directv.  They explain a lot about what is happening to our country and economy. There was a recent program on corporations.  As they say, corporations are suppose to make money, no matter what, just like a shark eats anything they can swallow.  That is what they were invented to do.  It's a real eye opening tv station and if you don't get the station, they have a website,  LinkTv.net. Be warned though,  they seem to be mostly democrats.  We just found it very interesting, not taking sides on anything.

Don and Cary
GMC4107
Neoplan AN340