LONDON, Ont. – With the state of the economy, everybody seems to have concerns about the future. Prices keep going up while wages trail behind at a lesser pace.

The trucking industry has not been left untouched by changes in the economy. High fuel prices and low rates seem to constantly affect those who keep the wheels turning.

Truck News visited London’s Flying J restaurant to see what drivers think about the state of the industry.

Winkler, Man. resident and O/O, Willy Peters, stopped his 1996 W900 Kenworth to ponder the question. “The biggest issue is rates. There isn’t enough money in it anymore,” he says.

Peters, who hauls equipment and oversized loads for a division of Mullen Transportation in Aldersyde, Alta. believes expenses are too high. “It’s hard to make a decent living.”

Kingston’s Sears Line Haul driver, Bill Procunier was headed to Nashville, Tenn. when he took a moment to share his views. “It’s always a rush to wait,” he says. Procunier, who drives a 2001 Freightliner agrees it is very hard to make a living. “Everything has gone up except freight prices.”

Driver Karen Bullock, of Corruna, Ont. was waiting to head out to Houston, Tex. with a load of general freight for Sears Long Haul out of London when she commented the state of the industry “stinks.”

“Every meal, fuel and everything else you buy you are paying double for (in the U.S.) with no compensation,” says Bullock who was coming from Evansville, Ind.

Jerry Noyes, an O/O for Sears Long Haul out of Kingston says the public image of trucking is being hurt. Noyes makes his home in Stirling, Ont. and was headed to Toledo, Ohio in his 1998 Freightliner.

“They’re (four-wheelers) trying to get to work, their homes, the cottage, meanwhile we’ve been on the road for a week and they are home every night,” he says.

“There could be a lot of improvement,” says the Drummondville, Que. native who hauls general freight for Cathlo Transport Inc. of St. Eugene, Que.

“If a company closes they should be held accountable and we should be paid irrelevant. We’ve already spent our money,” he says.

Owner/operator Jack McQuaid pulled his 1995 Western Star into the Flying J to get some supplies when he said the industry still needs to address the rate issue. “The rates are the same as they were in 1997. They need to at least triple,” he says.

McQuaid was headed to the state of Illinois then on to Memphis, Tenn. hauling general freight for Excalibre Motor Lines in Brampton.