Expensive diesel fuel isn't just driving up costs—it's driving trucking companies out of business.
  • brownsugga@lemmy.worldEnglish
    11·
    13 小时前

    It seems like the margins in EVERY business are razor thin… so where does all the money go?

    • Unpigged@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
      13·
      20 小时前

      Bancrupt companies will be bought by larger ones, over time consolidating power and monopolizing the market.

      • Junkers_Klunker@feddit.dkEnglish
        10·
        19 小时前

        Yea, this isn’t the win it sounds like. In times of crisis, the rich get richer and the poor gets poorer.

    • sp3ctr4l@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
      1·
      12 小时前

      You know the US is doing great when “return to rail barons” is just actually a more sustainable paradigm.

    • ToastedRavioli@midwest.socialEnglish
      72·
      19 小时前

      So you expect every business in the country to have train tracks pull right up to it?

      Plenty of freight already moves by trains, planes, boats, etc. but that doesn’t move it the final mile(s) that it needs to go to make it to a business…

      • balsoft@lemmy.mlEnglish
        1·
        9 小时前

        So you expect every business in the country to have train tracks pull right up to it?

        That’s actually a pretty good idea to aim for eventually, yes.

      • myyass@lemmy.worldEnglish
        71·
        18 小时前

        This is true, but everyone got comfortable with a semi driving from one side of the country to the other. I can tell you it’s no longer viable. Brace yourself for the impact I guess?

          • GreenKnight23@lemmy.worldEnglish
            36·
            18 小时前

            I’ll just hop on my scooter and transport, checks freight manifest, 20 tons of product.

            that won’t be so bad over my, checks delivery address, 60 mile route.

            • UiUiUiUiUi@piefed.nlEnglish
              52·
              18 小时前

              They use standard electric vans where the route is too far. But in high density areas a van stops making sense.

              My comment was on a comment about last mile.

              • GreenKnight23@lemmy.worldEnglish
                21·
                9 小时前

                last mile can be up to 100 miles away from the distribution center. along rural routes that may not see a public building like a gas station the entire trip.

                the thing I think Europeans cannot comprehend is the volume of space the US has. I used to drive two hours, one-way, for my job because that’s just where I worked. there was no public transit because my town had a population of under 1000 people. it took 30 minutes to go to the grocery store.

                these are normal things in the US.

                what works in Europe won’t always work in the US.

                • UiUiUiUiUi@piefed.nlEnglish
                  1·
                  4 小时前

                  Thats fair as a European I indeed have no idea how to even think of distribution in that scale. But surely the overwhelming majority of last mile transportation occurs in the large cities: where trains can be a replacement for city to city transport.

    • Junkers_Klunker@feddit.dkEnglish
      52·
      19 小时前

      Cross country? yes. Last mile? No, traintracks to every single company in need of transportation doesn’t make sense.

      • kiterios@lemmy.worldEnglish
        4·
        17 小时前

        You put the distribution centers near train stops (yes sometimes with direct rail connections) and then your trucking needs are limited to local distribution. Last mile mechanisms can vary based on product, commercial density, and infrastructure, but often are well served with a greater number of smaller vehicles.

        • Junkers_Klunker@feddit.dkEnglish
          21·
          14 小时前

          That’s more or less what they do today, because it makes a lot more sense to have central distribution centers. But that still doesn’t change the fact that you need a truck/van/car/bicycle for last mile transportation.