4/22/08

current event
title:Record gas prices squeeze drivers

who:nation
what:NEW YORK (AP) -- Cabbies here complain their take-home pay is thinner than it used to be. Trucking companies across the country are making drivers slow down to conserve fuel. Filling station owners plead that really, really, the skyrocketing prices aren't their fault.
when:April 22, 2008: 4:42 AM
where:NEW YORK (AP)
why:"Bottom line, we can't afford it no more, man. It's too much," Bak Zoumane said as he filled up his yellow cab at a BP station in midtown New York. The West African immigrant said his next car will likely be a hybrid so he won't have to pay so much at the pump.
Gasoline prices typically rise in the spring as stations switch over to pricier summer-grade fuel and demand picks up as more travelers take to the road.
But this year prices are rising even faster than normal, experts say, because of the massive jump in benchmark crude prices, which spiked to a record $117.76 a barrel Monday before settling a record settlement price of $117.48 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, up 79 cents from the previous close. It was the sixth day in a row prices set new records.
how:AAA figures show California has higher prices than anywhere in the country, with regular now selling for an average of $3.86 a gallon.
"It's a mess here," Goldstone said. "People just are not shopping and everyone's trying to figure out a way to get people back in their cars."
Diesel prices are rising even higher than gasoline, putting pressure on trucking and other shipping companies that use the fuel to transport goods around the country.
The American Trucking Associations on Monday said it will host a "fuel strategies workshop" in June to help fleet operators cope with soaring prices.
ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said fuel has now surpassed labor as the trucking industry's biggest cost, prompting some companies to install devices that prevent drivers from speeding. Companies are also shelling out for auxiliary power units and offering bonuses to drivers who cut down on idling and operate their trucks more efficiently.