Monday, June 23, 2008

Diesel prices driving independent truckers broke

Independent trucker Fletcher Mack owns a white Freightliner with his name stenciled in green on the door. These days he's reaching deeper into his pocket for fuel. With the price of diesel rising fast and more drivers chasing less freight, he sees a bleak financial future for himself and thousands like him across the country.

Mack figures his weekly income is down about $150 from a year ago to $750, before health insurance and taxes. The average price of diesel is nearly $5 a gallon, up almost $2 from a year ago. He makes around $38,000 a year. He and his longtime girlfriend juggle monthly bills, putting off what they can. Sometimes it's the rent, sometimes it's maintenance on the truck.

"This particular week what doesn't get paid is there's no service on the truck, because I had to decide between food and an oil change on the truck," said Mack, a one-eyed ex-baker who rents a one-bedroom house in a South Park, a gritty working-class neighborhood in Seattle. "The truck suffers, and the truck is how we make our money. And if the truck breaks then we have a really big problem." Full Story....

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