I don't think I missed your point. But obviously there is not enough information in that article to tell us what he is including/excluding in his profit number.

I didn't say that transportation is the most regulated industry around, nor would I.

What I did say is that the government heavily subsidizes commercial trucking by paying for the infrastructure that is utilizes. Soon, government will have to "pay" for the environmental impacts of commercial trucking which is why they are starting to get tougher with emissions regulations.
I wouldn't be surprised if the max weight/axle is decreased too in an effort to limit the damage to roads.

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1985 300D cali 190K

http://mercedes.thatchermathias.com/mw300d.jpg

EVERYTHING you eat, wear, and use comes on a truck at some point.
Maybe you would be better served if you drove to CA for veggies, to Houston to fuel your car, etc.... trucks pay a LOT of taxes for roads.
The roads are not built for what they are allowed to carry. They cause enormous damage to trucks that are serving you. Yes, lower weights would help the roads, but also increase the total number on the road.
Putting hard working people out of work is not just stupid, it's "california stupid". The older trucks will be gone in a few years due to wearing out.
These laws are just mean.

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1985 300SD
1998 Jetta TDI
Previous: lots of diesel VW's, MB's, KW's, Pete, Freightliner


Walking isn't a lost art: one must, by some means, get to the garage.

Environmental Gestapo.

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2016 Corvette Stingray 2LT
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

AMEN! I saw a bumper sticker that says "If you have it...a trucker brought it to you."

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68 250s SOLD
78 300d non turbo SOLD
1980 240d manual SOLD
1981 300SD 360,000 miles I think she's doomed for a parts car but has a good engine SOLD the engine to spamman
1977 300d non turbo SOLD
1985 300SD california car
1978 240D Manual

If you have ever driven commercialy you would know that its not about the MAX axle weight being lowered...it has to be enforced.....And though the CHP and the california DMV handbook will tell you that the MAXIMUM weight per axle is 10,000, 15,000, 25,000 per axle(depending on the vehicle you are operating) that is not the maximum. There definatly things in this world that weight more than that and they are transported over the road.....do you want to know how? The CHP allows overweight vehicles to travel across interstate highways by immposing a toll....so to speak. the more it weighs the more it is going to cost the trucking company. If you ever travel at night you will see huge convoys of trucks and CHP escorts. Cal trans is not worried about over weight vehicles because the are being payed for it and the more overweight vehicles are the more money they have. And when all these big trucking companies go out of business because of heavy fines, taxes....you name it....you will be hard pressed to find food on your table, diesel in your mercedes, and clothes on your back.

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68 250s SOLD
78 300d non turbo SOLD
1980 240d manual SOLD
1981 300SD 360,000 miles I think she's doomed for a parts car but has a good engine SOLD the engine to spamman
1977 300d non turbo SOLD
1985 300SD california car
1978 240D Manual

And like everything else that happens like this, the pie-in-the-sky idealists will be happy because it sounds like a wonderful thing they've done, the large companies who can afford the expense of this thing will be unhappy but they will survive, and countless un-voiced little men who were just trying to "get by" and can't afford truck replacement or retrofit will get run over without a thought.

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~Michael S.~
Past cars:

1986 300SDL
1987 300SDL
1982 240D
1982 300SD


Current:

1987 300SDL

most industries seem to be able to shift their increased costs on to the consumer. I don't see why trucking can't do the same.

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1985 300D cali 190K

http://mercedes.thatchermathias.com/mw300d.jpg

That works until you "shift" so much cost that the little-guy consumers can't afford to buy it anymore either.

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~Michael S.~
Past cars:

1986 300SDL
1987 300SDL
1982 240D
1982 300SD


Current:

1987 300SDL

Sounds remarkably like another tax.....

__________________
Palangi

2004 C240 Wagon 203.261 Baby Benz
2008 ML320 CDI Highway Cruiser
2006 Toyota Prius, Saving the Planet @ 48 mpg
2000 F-150, Destroying the Planet @ 20 mpg



TRUMP .......... WHITEHOUSE
HILLARY .........JAILHOUSE
BERNIE .......... NUTHOUSE
0BAMA .......... OUTHOUSE

more like charging something closer to the true cost of a product.

Next up will be use taxes or increased material costs to cover the full lifecycle of a product. All that cheap plastic crap from china doesn't just disappear for free once it's broken and discarded.

__________________
1985 300D cali 190K

http://mercedes.thatchermathias.com/mw300d.jpg

Sounds remarkably like another tax......

__________________
Palangi

2004 C240 Wagon 203.261 Baby Benz
2008 ML320 CDI Highway Cruiser
2006 Toyota Prius, Saving the Planet @ 48 mpg
2000 F-150, Destroying the Planet @ 20 mpg



TRUMP .......... WHITEHOUSE
HILLARY .........JAILHOUSE
BERNIE .......... NUTHOUSE
0BAMA .......... OUTHOUSE

There's this funny thing called a 'demand curve'. Demand for a product isn't static - it depends on a number of factors. Including price. And guess what - if price goes up, demand drops.

What the truck companies have to do is try and optimize the price based on the demand curve. Yes, the price they charge goes up, but it can only do so to a point before the demand drops off enough that they lose money again. While the revenue is higher, the profit from that new price point is lower than the old one, which means they don't net as much profit as they used to.



I will say, as boneheaded as I think the emissions rule CARB has implemented is, I do applaud them for the rule they're simultaneously applying about tires and fairings. That, at least, is a step in the right direction.

California is such a Diesel hating state....... They won't even allow the blue-tec E-class here because it "doesn't meet standards" yet I see tons upon tons of old junky gassers throwing out clouds of exhaust. And if i'm not mistaken, doesn't Gasoline emissions harm the surroundings more than Diesel emissions?

Can't wait to move to Texas, a Diesel friendly state

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76 MG Midget
78 Datsun 280Z
86 Peugeot 505
01 Subaru Outback

“Owning a car is like owning a dog. Every now and then, it craps on the carpet — but it’s still your dog.” - Jeremy Clarkson

Maybe, They should ship all of the good that come through CA to the rest of the country through OR or WA. Let the people of CA pay the higher charges from all of these new rigs. The cost of everything is up,this will send it up more, and people are out of work more every day it seems like.
Big Bro. is going to tell you what to do, and if you do not like it go to .....
And will this push the new diesels I have hoped for, further out of wanting to come to the USA?
Not good in so many ways....

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83 300SD Dark Silver Dark brown inside

I wouldn't worry too much about no new diesels. Mercedes, BMW and VW all have 50 state compliant diesels available for sale here now. Honda is bringing at least one and possibly more for 2010.

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1987 300TD 309, xxx 2.8.2014 10,000 mile OCI


Be careful of the toes you step on today, as they may be connected to the ass you have to kiss tomorrow. anonymous

“Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter, and those who matter won’t mind.” Dr. Seuss