Yeah look I don't think these guys are saying these things just for kicks:
A Facebook post from the owner of a Texas trucking company went viral last week after he warned that skyrocketing diesel prices could have longterm consequences for the US supply-chain.
Austin Smith, owner of Iron River Express, said it has cost him over $20,000 a week to keep his three trucks running.
"If something drastic doesn't change in the next few weeks/months, I promise you, you'll see empty shelves everywhere you look," Smith wrote in a post that was shared nearly 290,000 times. "You'll see chaos as people fight for the basic necessities of everyday life."
Let us so stipulate that, in all likelihood, things probably won't get to that crisis breaking point. But they won't really have to. The reality of the situation will be bad enough: Sky-high prices, persistent shortages, endless SNAFUs with the supply chain, just a neverending series of very difficult crises.
Meanwhile, the industry does appear to be hanging by something of a thread at this point, with the trucking chain being kept afloat by little more than sheer tenacity:
Nick, a trucker who owns a small carrier in Maryland, told Insider he's had to take loads at a loss.
"I have the option not to run my fleet at all, but I care more about keeping my drivers busy," said Nick, who prefers to go only by his first name due to a pending lawsuit. "Drivers are the most important asset and sometimes that means I have to accept loads that are not in my favor." ...
"We're all just trying to stay afloat and at times I have to stop and ask myself if it's worth it," Resek, who has been driving for seven years, said. "Trucking is not what it used to be and we seem powerless to do anything about it."
These are good men and women out there keeping things moving. If you know a trucker, thank a trucker, profusely.
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