Gas Hike Changes Little for Local Haulers

Like their national and international counterparts, regional haulers have made few changes recently in rates for exhibit shipping due to the spike in fuel prices. But the important word there is "recently," since costs are up 8 percent over the past two years, said Ernest Meade, account manager for West's Transportation Solutions, based in Durham, N.C.

Meade noted that his company has only raised its prices 1 percent in the last six months, a negligible difference for most exhibitors. A normal short haul in the Carolinas served by West's company would cost $750. Who, he asked rhetorically, is going to complain about $7.50?

Meade said diesel has risen about 15 cents a gallon in the last six months.

"It's not as large a problem as some like to make it out to be," he said. Truckers do have to recover the cost of higher fuel prices, but so far that hasn't amounted to much.

Added Nancy Coli, office manager for Graham Moving & Storage, a United Van Lines agent in Colchester, Vt., "We eat part of the increased cost before the surcharge is added to the exhibitor's charge."

However, Kent Costello, president of Mid Continent Van Service in Maryland Heights, Mo., said the higher fuel prices are making a difference, in that the fuel surcharge adds 5 percent to the total cost of a normal shipment. That doesn't go to the transportation companies' bottom line; it's merely a way to recoup the added expense, he said.

Steve Ginter, vice president of marketing for New Penn Motor Express, based in Maspeth, N.Y., said those most affected by the increase in fuel surcharges are independent truck owner-operators, who have to pay for fuel out of their own pockets, and collect the surcharges themselves. As for the regional carriers, "We've all adapted similarly to high fuel prices by using the sliding scale. As the price of diesel fuel goes up, the surcharge goes up." Every company uses its own tables to calculate their surcharges, but the table used by one carrier differs little from those used by others, he said.

"All our customers have been very understanding about cost increases due to the price of fuel, but particularly so in the tradeshow world, where exhibitors are sensitive about getting their shipments where they need to go when they need to be there. These customers don't mind a $5, $10 or $15 increase in the cost of a shipment," Ginter said. These are nominal increases that are offset by exhibitors' need for timely delivery – and hopefully, fuel prices will go back down and lower or eliminate the surcharge, he added.