The Supply Chain and Fuel Prices
Let’s face it if gasoline costs continue to climb, supply chain difficulties will escalate.
It’s already difficult to make a profit as a modest one to five-vehicle fleet trucking firm after you pay for gasoline, pay your drivers, and do routine truck maintenance. After those tasks are completed, the truck’s owner will have very little to carry home to their family.
This is something I know for a fact because my husband and I operate a small trucking company in Alabama. When fuel costs began to climb, we were able to make it work, but this did not persist. As the cost of gasoline rises,
Another aspect has been the capacity to hire and retain people. The lockdowns appear to have elicited a phobic response from the American workforce.
Getting and maintaining drivers has become a serious challenge, regardless of how much you pay them. I’m not sure if it was the lockdowns or the unemployment checks that caused the problem, but finding drivers willing to stay in a truck and work a whole day is nearly difficult. Nobody benefits from a truck that isn’t moving.