Say What?
Question: What issue facing the trucking industry concerns you the most?
Ron “Snuffy” Smith, 52, Massillon, OH
Professional driving experience: 28 years
“That’s a multiple answer, mainly fuel and freight rates. We’re lucky. We get pretty good fuel surcharges. Without that we probably wouldn’t have our own truck right now. You have to raise the freight rates. You can’t haul cheap freight and afford to cover all the expenses. It just doesn’t work.”
Dianne “Granny” Smith, 51, Massillon, OH
Professional driving experience: 19 years
“Fuel surcharges. The freight rates. And our federal government wanting the states to make toll roads out of our interstates, which are already paid for. I’m concerned enough about the toll issue that I’ve e-mailed my congressman and made phone calls.”
Gail Glass, 58, Harrisburg, IL
Professional driving experience: 40 years
“Fuel prices. The cost of fuel is the biggest thing right now. I’m a company driver, but it impacts my boss. If it hurts him, it’s going to hurt me. The way the cost of oil has gotten so high it’s going to hurt everybody. Cars. Trucks. Farmers. I’ve got a farmer friend, and it’s really hurting him.”
Billy Arnold, 30, Sedalia, MO
Professional driving experience: 12 years
“Fuel costs. We pass the fuel surcharges along to our shippers and receivers,
but it still doesn’t cover the increase in fuel costs. As an owner-operator, it takes money out of my pocket. The impact on me means I have to run more miles and run harder just to stay even because my expenses keep going up all the time.”
Ron Stevens, 37, Philadelphia, PA
Professional driving experience: 12 years
“As a company driver, I’m most concerned about how things are being regulated and what’s being done about them. Hours of service, for example. There’s a lot of talk, but no one seems to know what they should do. My thought is they are not looking at the real root of the problem. The real problem is drivers are driving tired because they’re being pressured into trying to do more than they are physically capable of doing.”
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