Trucking companies may soon be forced to lay off employees if the price of diesel doesn’t change, some say.
The recently skyrocketing prices of diesel have dropped by one penny in the last week, but trucking companies and owner operators say they are going to need more of a drop than that if they are to continue working.
Some, like trucking company owner and driver Omar Edwards, are looking for ways to save on diesel costs after being forced to lay off some employees. His most recent strategy is team driving, so that one truck can keep moving between the two drivers rather than fill up two trucks.
“I’m heading over to Atlanta to actually pick up one of my drivers,” Edwards said. “We’re going to be team driving right now.”
“A lot of these trucks you see now are not going to be here anymore. A lot of these trucks are a small company like myself that just can’t afford to pay these high prices,” Edwards said.
Maurice Burnside, owner of Phaymis Trucking Company, told News Nation Now that his fuel costs have almost doubled since this time last year – from $10,000 to $18,000.
“It’s a struggle,” he said. “The longer hauls are a bit more of a challenge. What we’ve been doing with my company, we’ve been taking shorter runs so we spend less money in diesel, but we also make less money.”
“You can’t operate like that,” he continued. “We can’t drive for free. We have families to take care of.”