Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/85420
roadside attractions GUGES A A weak second half to sputter and rates fell during the second half. DRY VAN FLATBED REEFER After a strong start in 2011, the economy continued $2.50 $2.25 $2.00 $1.75 $1.50 $1.25 Dec. 2009 Dec. 2010 Dec. 2011 Forecast: Rising rates Last year through November, contract rates rose an average 6.5 percent compared to year-ago figures, while spot market rates increased 7.4 per- cent, load matching service TransCore says. Spot market rates rose unevenly in 2011, especially for vans, says TransCore analyst Mark Montague. Rates are likely to climb as carriers' costs increase, and especially if the economy improves. "Expect rates to head up as soon as mid-March," Montague says. Monthly truck loan payment The highest owner-operator truck note was $3,575 in a recent study done by the 0-$800 21% * $801-1,200 $1,201-1,600 More than $1,600 27% 22% 28% Mack-Blackwell Rural Transportation Center at the University of Arkansas. * Percentages do not add to 100 percent due to rounding Jan. 9, 2012 diesel price averages $3.88 Atlanta-Buffalo Chicago-Dallas Dallas-Jacksonville Houston-Mobile Los Angeles-Denver Memphis-Cleveland Philadelphia–Indianapolis St. Louis–Boston Seattle-Phoenix $3.72 $3.78 $3.73 $3.89 $3.76 $3.80 $3.83 $3.90 Creature comforts In 2011, Ronnie Graves was hon- ored with the top responder award from Florida's Agricultural Response Team for using his trucking resources in volun- teer animal rescue efforts. Fifth-generation driver Ronnie Graves has put his own stamp on his family's trucking tradition ever since he first sat in a truck cab as an infant in his father's lap. Graves, a native of Sumter County, Fla., lost his left leg as a youth, but the loss served as a challenge, not a detriment, to work hard and help those in need, such as 9,700 animals in the last two years alone. He was a long-haul trucker until 1979, when he became a full-time prosthetist and orthotist, though he kept his CDL. In 1998, after a series of devastating wildfires in Florida, he was enlisted to haul animals for the first time. He and 15 friends built compounds to house the rescued animals, and soon the State Agriculture Department and the Humane Society become involved. Graves and his wife started the Sumter Disaster Animal Response Team in 2004 after rescuing animals in Punta Corda, Fla., in Hurricane Charley's wake. FUEL SURCHARGE INDEX (www.Fuel- SurchargeIndex. org) prices are col- lected daily from more than 5,500 truck stops and averaged along specific routes. "I had a garage full of Ford Mustangs and sold all but one," he says, to finance the rescue equipment, including two tractor-trailers. One 53-foot trailer has 84 stainless steel kennels, four heating and cooling units, oxygen monitors, carbon dioxide monitors, living quarters for a handler and other custom features. Graves' rescues include dogs and cats after Hurricane Katrina and pelicans following the BP oil spill. "I transported 232 rabbits once," he says. "Thank goodness they were all fixed." Those interested in being a part of the operation can find information at sumterdart.org. — Elizabeth Manning 8 OVERDRIVE FEBRUARY 2012 Internet Truckstop Courtesy of Ronnie Graves