NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -
High fuel costs and driver shortages may delay some holiday deliveries, according to a recent report.
Trucking companies will spend 37 percent more on diesel fuel in 2005 and the industry is about 20,000 drivers short of what it needs, USA Today said Tuesday.
Trucking company Watkins & Shepard is charging a 20 percent fuel surcharge and is expecting one-day delays through the holiday season, CEO Ray Kuntz told the newspaper.
The volume of delivered goods spikes about 10 percent for the holidays, according to the report, which cited the American Trucking Association.
"Carriers have a little more market power than they've had in quite some time," Bob Costello, chief economist with the ATA, told the newspaper. "And they can call the shots, especially at this time of year."
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