Re: gas and fuel costs - long

From: MV (MV@dc9.tzo.com)
Date: Sat Nov 19 2005 - 08:16:22 PST


Well, I'd like Joe Shannon to pipe up here and comment on my replay also
- please do Joe.

I've got one commercial truck right now (26K tags) and I'm about to
bring a tractor online also. I've got an IFTA Account for the truck I
have now since I have pulled a trailer with it also so that puts it into
the combination vehicle class which requires an IFTA sticker and
quarterly fuel tax reporting/paying.

I'm a private carrier so I don't have an MC number or Authorization to
be a common carrier. (If this is going over your head, get in line - it
took me a while to figure this out)

Some definitions might be helpful for those not stricken by US
Government trucking regs.

MC number - shown on side of the cab of commerical carriers - An
authorization number which means you have been granted the right to be a
common carrier.

IFTA number (and corresponding cab stickers) - International Fuel Tax
Agreement - a way to pay fuel taxes "fairly" depending on what states
you operate in. Must file quarterly returns.

IRP account - International Registration Plan - read - "International
license plate plan" - so that each state can suck some money out of you
for driving a big rig in their state.

When you go to the truck stop as an independant trucker if you have an
MC number they will not make you pay the sales tax on the fuel since you
are supposed to be using your IFTA account to pay all applicable taxes.
  The taxes paid by truckers with the IFTA stickers are actaully higher
than if you were just going to pay the regular sales tax at the pump.
Although you might not have to pay the tax at the pump, if you are
honest on your IFTA quarterly filings, then you pay the regular sales
tax amount and then some. No price break or tax break for truckers.
Now if you are not honest about your IFTA filings, well then that is a
different story.

As I understand it now, most trucking companies are giving truckers
rebates or price relief of fuel costs on top of their regular pay so
they can hopefully make some money. These rebates are being tacked onto
  shipping charges are fuel surcharges that everyone pays. There are no
great prices breaks for truckers anywhere that I can find.

I think most truckers are resigned to paying higher prices. What's the
point of bitching about it constantly. They have no control over it
anyway. I'm sure the big carriers are constantly trying to negotiate
the best fuel prices - wouldn't you? As a small guy, I just pay what it
takes to get stuff from there to here and so forth. It's just getting
really expensive.

I went to Sam's club yesterday and bought two cases of Rotella T
$44.00/case. One case of Antifreeze - $45.00/case and a bunch of
transmission fluid. Total bill was $187. That same stuff would have
been close to a $100 just 12 months ago.

The government says that inflation is about 2% per year or so. That's
total BS. Does anyone know of anything that hasn't gone up
substantially in the last year? Steel - about 100%, Gas >50%, diesel
 >75%, wood products - plywood/osb >25% Food - a lot.

The economy is going into the dumper - Delphi has declared bankrupty, GM
is not far behind. The only corporations making lots of money are
importing oil or chinese crap, or making money by repairing people
(healthcare).

Sonny, the short story is that if you are driving a big rig and not
making money doing so, then you are going to pay the going rate. In
general I don't move my big trucks unless I am making money. They don't
burn fuel when they are parked. My 5 ton M51 dump has had few miles put
on it recently, but I will probably fire it up again to haul several
loads of gravel this winter.

Dave

Sonny Heath wrote:
> Thats the first I've seen of the post from Joe Shannon. Did he send
> that post to our list? hmmm wonder why I missed that,
>
>
> Okay Joe, tell me why you are the VERY FIRST I've heard from a trucker
> concerning the price of fuel? When I go in to Flying J with my sixty
> series Freightliner (my play toy) and pay a thousand dollars to fill it
> up I hear all kinds of pick up and car owners complaining about the high
> cost of fuel but when I sit in the drivers lounge or the restaurant I
> hear ABSOLUTELY NOTHING from the truckers concerning the cost of fuel
> being twice what it was a short time ago.
>
> I say there MUST be a subsidy somehow and they have been asked to keep
> it quiet, nothing else makes sense to me.
>
> Sonny
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Ryan Gill" <rmgill@mindspring.com>
> To: "Military Vehicles Mailing List" <mil-veh@mil-veh.org>
> Sent: Saturday, November 19, 2005 7:53 AM
> Subject: Re: [MV] gas and fuel costs
>
>
> At 8:44 AM -0600 11/19/05, Joe Shannon wrote:
>
>>>
>> I pay 3.19 a gallon, plus $3000 for tags, $550 to the IRS and $400 a
>> month insurance all of this per truck. Trucks DO NOT get a discount at
>> the pump they DO NOT get any kind of cash back. If a truck does into
>> another state they have to pay that states fuel tax as well as there
>> own so you can stop feeling sorry for yourself for having to buy $50
>> of diesel a week to play.
>
>
> Joe, after looking at the stuff like IFTA, IRP
> and the amount of paperwork, I don't know how you
> guys do it.
>
>



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