GUEST COLUMNIST:
David Owen
President - National Association of Small Trucking Companies
Our members represent arguably the largest niche (by carrier) in the trucking industry, i-e., for-hire, full truckload, long haul companies with fewer than 100 power units. Generally speaking, most of them have a simple operating plan that operates on a weekly cycle. Their trucks and drivers are outbound on Sunday evening or Monday morning and back on Friday evening in time for the local high school football game. The trucks go through the maintenance shop on Saturday while the driver restarts with family time.
During the Monday through Friday road week, the goal of the company is secure for the truck and the driver, the maximum number of loaded miles with a profitable rate and a fuel surcharge that can be run safely and legally. Our small carriers cannot grow or prosper without giving their drivers consistent loaded miles, and consistent weekend family time, plus consistent weekly maintenance on their rolling stock.
Since they must run every week to retain customers and drivers, they must buy over-the-road diesel fuel no matter what the price. Fuel surcharges have helped mitigate the recent unprecedented eighteen month movement of fuel, but there is always a time lag that is seldom recovered and, no one collects a fuel surcharge 100% of the time. Needless to say, the last eighteen months have not been profitable ones for any segment of the trucking business for this reason.
Beginning in June however, I feel the dynamics in the market showed some signs of changing for the better. Freight tonnage was up for the sixth straight month, fuel prices came down based primarily on the threat of Congress to regulate fuel speculation and to approve off shore drilling, and capacity (available trucks and drivers) seemed to be below demand for the first time in two years. The past two months have been promising, but two months does not qualify as a trend.
It is my opinion that Congressional approval for off shore drilling would bring diesel fuel substantially further down and would be the best timed act that could help an industry in trouble.
Below is an op/ed piece that I offered last week that furthers this argument:
Perhaps the greatest thing about America is its size and scope. We have more land than we know what to do with, allowing Americans to dream big and achieve big. Since it was always possible to find land outside our cities, we have bigger houses than anyone in the world, with bigger yards. And bigger cars for our longer commutes to work.
But this is where we're starting to have a problem. This summer, the price of gasoline soared past $4 per gallon. The price of diesel fuel went even higher. That's putting the American dream at risk.
As President of the National Association of Small Trucking Companies, I've seen the damage of expensive fuel firsthand. Many companies are struggling to stay in business, while others have already failed. Plus, shippers are forced to pass along the high cost of fuel by charging customers more. That makes everything from food to furniture more expensive. Our entire economy is at risk, and we already see the effects: Higher unemployment, higher prices and slower economic growth.
But, it doesn't have to be like this.
One reason fuel is so expensive is because we bring most of it from far away. Shipping anything costs money, as truckers know all too well. And the vast majority of our oil must be shipped here either through pipes or by sea. So the answer is pretty simple: Develop more of our domestic oil resources.
The federal government knows there are billions of barrels of oil available under the Outer Continental Shelf, just off our coasts in American waters. The only reason we aren't drilling for and selling that oil is because Congress won't allow us to. About 85 percent of the OCS is off limits to all oil exploration, a policy that seemed to make sense in days gone by. Back then, the evening news occasionally featured pictures of oil-soaked birds and polluted beaches, natural disasters caused by offshore oil spills.
But today's technology is far superior to that used 30 years ago. Oil rigs leak less oil than the amount that seeps out of the ocean floor naturally. In other countries, fisheries and wildlife preserves thrive right next to drilling platforms. Yet lawmakers seem to believe that Americans, who invented offshore drilling, can't do it as cleanly as our competitors can.
Many in Congress like to talk about conservation and fuel efficiency, and truckers are interested in these, too. We keep our rigs clean (less wind drag) keep our tires inflated correctly (better fuel economy), and stay within the speed limit. But there's nothing more inefficient than going overseas for a product that's available right here.
All Americans realize this. That's why an American Solutions Survey a few months back found that 85 percent of Republicans, 76 percent of Democrats and 83 percent of independents want our country to develop more of its domestic energy resources. You'd be hard pressed to get that sort of agreement on whether the sun will rise in the East tomorrow.
Members of the House of Representatives traditionally take the month of August off to meet with constituents and discuss important issues. There's little doubt that most have been hearing an earful this year about high fuel prices. Yet, Speaker Nancy Pelosi ended this summer's session without allowing a vote on whether to allow more offshore drilling. That's a shame, especially since President Bush had finally done his part in July, lifting an executive order that had kept the OCS mostly off limits. Until Congress returns, though, there can be no oil exploration off our shores.
The American people need affordable fuel so we can maintain our way of life. Most everything we use these days moves by truck, and our mobile country has more cars than registered drivers. It's time to allow Americans to have more access to American energy, and the lower prices that fuel will deliver.
David Owen is co-founder and President of the National Association of Small Trucking Companies (NASTC) founded in 1989. He is a graduate of the University of North Carolina with a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Relations and a United States Marine Corps veteran. David resides in Hendersonville, TN with his wife Bonnie, and is the father of five grown children.
NASTC is an association representing 2100 full truckload, long haul, irregular route, for-hire carriers in the continental United States and
More information about NASTC is available on its website at www.NASTC.com.
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