hmmmmm.....here's a thought: let's punish those that took the risk and provided the investment capital to fund the exploration, R&D and increased infrastructure/capacity to continue the supply of a critical commodity for the world economy by confiscating their wealth and shipping it to Washington. Once it's taken out of productive economic use, we can use the funds to create an additional layer of bureaucracy and waste to hire civil servants to figure out what, how and when they should ask Congress what to do with it? Once Congress has debated how the funds should be parsed pork barrel like to fund projects to develop cars that burn broccoli in Cali, corn in Iowa, chicken guano on MD's eastern shore, coal in WVa and sand in the deserts of the southwest we will discover that at the end of the day...... gas will still be $6.00 a barrel and we've created meaningful disincentives to those that have the wherewithal to provide necessary investment capital to fund the greatest economic growth engine the world has ever known. Terry
Which is exactly why American industry will figure out how to become more efficient in their delivery methods and transportation costs.....cut now to "Stu's Theory"....alternative fuel sources become more economically viable and the prospect of material investment returns begins to sashay seductively in front of investors.....the increase in supply of investment capital provides the wherewithal to fund the development and scale production of vastly more efficient sources.....the system has worked magnificently for hundreds of years. I'm willing to give it a shot! So in other words....what Stu said! p.s. - MCG - Just who is "Big Oil'? Terry
BT, A semi is a semi. A Peterbuilt is a Peterbuilt and I don't see E85 as a replacement for diesel fuel in the immediate future of the trucking industry. Cold hard truth.
Didn't I just read that Fuel is only 5% of the UPS balance sheet? I think it was in an article about them putting some new kind of Diesel in some trucks as a Test.
MCG, you're confusing me..... :?: :?: :?: ....it seems as if you're suggesting we're doomed in any event. I don't quite see it that way. Terry
I haven't heard of alternative fuel for diesel trucks not to say there isn't one or couldn't be one. In the interim trucking costs for American businesses have skyrocketed. UPS is a trucking company itself so the fuel cost as a percentage of overall cost would be different than it would be for an industry that just utilizes carriers to ship their products. For my customers fuel surcharge is running about 23% of overall trucking expense as a pure add-on. There is also a fuel expense built in to the linehaul as charged anyway.
MCG wrote: Ever heard of "BioDiesel" there MCG. A diesel engine will run on vegetable oil. Discarded vegetable oil from restaurants can be filtered and run in Diesel engines.
Yes... There is at least one station supplying it on IH-35E just south of Dallas at exit 374. I am sure there are more places but that is one I know for sure.
You can tell I'm in sales not operations: http://www.biotrucker.com/testimonials/default.asp#MN Sounds like a viable option at least environmentally.
TT worte: Quote from article that MCG linked to: Carl's Corner is at exit 374. This was the place I spoke of.[/quote]