Truckers Are 'Just Trying to Hang On' When a Fill-Up Tops $1,000
www.nytimes.com

... Truckers are among the hardest hit by the soaring cost of diesel fuel. High prices are forcing some to stay on the road for months and others to park their rigs.

When Sean Howarth started his independent trucking business last year, he made sure to reserve one week a month for his family -- a girlfriend and her two children -- at home in Miami between three weeks on the road.

Then came the war in Iran, which sent the price of diesel fuel skyrocketing and turned a fill-up into an $1,000-a-tank ordeal.

For now, the only way to make ends meet, Mr. Howarth said, is to get on the road and stay there. He has not been home since mid-August.

He sleeps in his truck and has missed birthdays, volleyball games and date nights salsa dancing at a local club. He does not plan to return home until the holidays unless diesel prices fall sharply.

"I am just trying to hang on," he said. ...