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FEBRUARY/MARCH 2020
Features
14 > For Jessica Luttrell,
entering the trucking
industry was a lifechanging
experience
10 > On Trucking
22 > Puzzle
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week as they bring you the only weekly
news show just for Truckers.
Tune in and watch at TheTrucker.com

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1949, our elite 100% Owner-
Operator team sets the standard
for live entertainment trucking.
Are you ready to join us?
• ALL MILES PAID!
• Paid fuel surcharge on ALL miles
• Paid fuel permits
• Paid cargo/liability insurance
• Referral bonus program
• Weekly settlements & direct deposit
• No-touch freight
• Pre-planned schedules
• Cash safety bonus
• Base plate program
Must be 23 years old with
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Fuel prices appear to be stable, but
will be influenced by world events
Cliff Abbott
Predicting where fuel prices are headed is about as easy as predicting
the weather — the farther out you try to predict, the
more inaccurate you’re likely to be.
On the topic of weather, hurricanes and other natural disasters that
shut down oil refineries can definitely impact diesel fuel prices. But that’s
usually in the short term. For the long-term, the U.S. National Weather
Service Climate Prediction Center predicts a warmer than usual winter
for much of the country, with normal temperatures expected in the rest,
except for a few states in the upper Midwest. If predictions come to pass,
there should be no spikes in demand for heating oil and maybe a reduced
demand. That will help to keep diesel fuel prices at current levels.
Other sources, however, don’t deliver such good news.
Kiplinger’s blog entry from December 30, “Gasoline Prices to Inch
Higher,” points out that energy companies are cutting operating costs by
slowing drilling operations. The blog predicts that U.S. oil production
will taper off, inching barrel prices higher.
One factor in the cost of drilling operations is the tariffs imposed by
the Trump administration on the import of steel products. The majority
of steel drill pipe as well as steel used in valve fittings and other equipment
is imported. When the U.S. imposed a 25% tariff on steel imports,
costs for drilling equipment rose substantially. Recent agreements with
China should bring prices down, but the oil industry has little incentive
to crank their drilling operations back up.
Tensions in the Middle East can change quickly, and recent events
won’t help. The death of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani in a U.S. airstrike
in Iran served to heighten tensions in the area. Iran was responsible
for attacks on Saudi Arabian oil refineries and tankers in the Persian Gulf
and has been agitating U.S. forces in Iraq for years. It remains to be seen
if the death of Soleimani will serve to escalate terrorist activity in the area.
Iran has threatened retaliation and did so January 8 in a missile attack on
bases in Iraq that house U.S. and Iraqi troops. There were no reported
casualties in the attack.
If that retaliation harms oil production in the area, barrel prices will
undoubtedly rise, leading to increased diesel fuel prices. Other countries
in the area, especially Syria, are still experiencing unrest as well, and military
eruptions are possible there and in other areas.
Another Middle East factor is the Organization of the Petroleum
Exporting Countries (OPEC) plan to tighten oil supplies in the coming
year. OPEC’s 15 member countries have been working with nonmember
producers like Russia and Mexico in a grouping referred to as
OPEC+ to reduce the supply of oil on the market in order to stabilize
prices.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA),
2020 could be a mixed-bag of petroleum news. In its “Short-Term Energy
Outlook” for December, the agency predicts that OPEC crude oil
production will average 29.3 million barrels per day in 2020, down about
a half-million barrels a day (1.7%) from 2019 production. Not all oil producing
countries have been successful in curtailing production, however.
Russia in particular saw an increase in crude oil production last year despite
its assurances that it would make cuts. Sometimes, national needs
take precedence over regional agreements.
Offsetting potential OPEC cuts is the increase in U.S. production. In
September, for the first time ever, the U.S. exported more crude oil and
petroleum products than it imported. The EIA projects that U.S. 2020 oil
production will average about 13.2 million barrels per day in 2020, an
increase of 0.9 million barrels. The agency reports production increases
of 1.6 million barrels per day in 2018 and 1.3 million in 2019.
A potential fly in the ointment for 2020 fuel prices is the cost of fuel
for ships. Many drivers recall the 2006 market turmoil when the EPA
mandated the use of Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel in highway vehicles. Fuel
supplies were generally good with a few spot shortages as refiners worked
to produce the newer fuel products. Fuel for the ship industry is going
through a similar transformation.
The International Maritime Organization (IMO) began implementing
a requirement in the International Convention for the Prevention of
Pollution from Ships which lowers the allowable sulfur content of ship
“bunker” fuel oil by nearly 86%. The reduction entails conversion of more
high-sulfur heavy fuel oil into low-sulfur distillates like diesel fuel. The
resulting pressure on diesel fuel supplies could result in higher prices at
the pump for truckers.
U.S. average diesel prices were $3.041 per gallon on December 23, rising
by 2.8 cents per gallon for the December 30 report, the last of 2019.
January 6 was the first Monday of the new year and the first of the EIA’s
weekly reports of gasoline and diesel fuel prices. The U.S. average diesel
price of $3.079 was only one cent higher than the previous week. It is as
likely that two weeks of increases totaling 3.8 cents per gallon were attributable
to the holidays as they were to the IMO low-sulfur mandate, but
weeks of data is needed to identify a trend.
The 2020 outlook for now is relatively stable fuel prices, but that outlook
can change quickly when influenced by world events.
10
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For Jessica Luttrell, entering the trucking industry
was a life-changing experience
Cliff Abbott
When some people enter the trucking industry, it’s a career
change. For Jessica Luttrell, it was a life-changing experience.
“I wasn’t getting anywhere in Arizona,” she said in a recent
interview with The Trucker. With a past that included raising her two
children with government assistance and periods of homelessness, Luttrell
needed a change. Thus began a transformation that continues today,
thanks to the trucking industry and one special driver. That transformation
includes selection as the Women in Trucking December 2019
Member of the Month.
Jessica hauls dairy products between distribution centers for Umpqua
Dairy, a 75-truck operation with headquarters in Roseburg, Oregon. She
typically works evening/night shifts, running dairy products to Umpqua
“depots” for the coming delivery day. “I think I have it easy compared to
some other drivers,” she said. “I don’t do the retail runs, I haul truckload
to the Umpqua distribution centers.”
Like many, her trucking career began with a solo over-the-road position.
Once her boyfriend obtained a CDL of his own, they teamed
together for a couple of years before Jessica found local work in order
to spend more time with her two children. “I worked for a farm that
serviced septic tanks and porta-potties,” she explained. Her job was to
haul the fermented sludge to local farms, spreading it on hay fields as
fertilizer.
She also drove dump trucks for a local construction firm before hiring
on as Umpqua Dairy’s first female driver.
“I love being able to support myself and my kids, provide benefits and
all the things that the trucking industry provides,” she said.
Luttrell’s odyssey in trucking began with her (then) boyfriend’s suggestion
that they give Oregon a try. They loaded their possessions into
an RV and hit the road. “Unfortunately, our RV broke down and we had
to get a U-Haul for our belongings, so we were travelling in a U-Haul
with two kids a dog and a cat,” she explained. “Then, the money ran out.”
The young family found themselves stranded at a truck stop in Corning,
California, without the funds to complete their trip. That’s when
a big-hearted trucker did what truckers so often do. “A woman truck
driver walked up and asked ‘What’s your story? I can tell that I need to
help you.’ Then she told us to pull the U-Haul up to the pump. She filled
it up and then gave us money to buy food,” Luttrell said.
That fuel and the encouragement that came with it was enough to
complete the trip. “I can’t believe I didn’t even get her name,” she said.
Once in Oregon, she couldn’t help but notice the large variety of
trucks plying Interstate 5 and local roads. “They were amazing,” she said.
“I still want to try heavy haul and I want to drive a log truck.”
Her curiosity piqued, Jessica began to check out the industry. “It
looked fun and seemed to offer (financial) stability,” she said, but she
didn’t get much support at first. “People told me ‘that’s stupid,’” she said.
“Nobody took me seriously until I got my permit.”
That’s when she applied for a scholarship to the Umpqua Community
College CDL program through Umpqua Training and Employment, a
partnership between the college and local trucking businesses. It wasn’t
easy. “I had to pass an assessment, interview drivers and participate in
a scholarship selection process,” she explained. “I thought I was going
to have to take a remedial math class to go to CDL school!” When all
was said and done, “I was awarded a scholarship for the four-week CDL
course at the college.”
Since then, she’s worked to become more active in trucking, joining
WIT and visiting classes at the community college with her (now ex)
husband. She was interviewed by WIT President and CEO Ellen Voie
for the organization’s radio show and also appeared in a promotional
video for the college where she obtained her CDL (youtu.be/wnbsyXc-
9NxU). Currently, she’s communicating with a representative of the college
about making regular visits to address the classes.
Luttrell’s future plans are to move into management. “I am like the
safety police,” she laughed, “so I think I would do well in a safety role.”
She knows, however, that more knowledge leads to more opportunities.
“The more I learn about the industry, the more I want to learn about the
different parts and how everything works.”
She understands that a move from her current residence in a small
town a half-hour from the Umpqua headquarters in Roseburg may be
necessary.
When asked about her hobbies and work outside of the trucking industry,
Luttrell was specific. “My kids are my life, my dogs are my life,”
she explained. One of her two daughters is 19 and has since moved out
of the home, but the 11-year old still lives with Luttrell. That’s another
reason she’d like to work regular daytime hours in the office.
She also describes herself as “a hardcore animal lover,” who is proud
of the work she and her ex-husband did with Gettin’ Em Home Transport
(gettinemhome.com), a charitable organization that utilizes volunteers
to transport dogs and cats from animal shelters to rescue centers
and foster homes in other states. “Some of them were great to travel with
and some we couldn’t wait to get rid of, but we loved doing it,” Luttrell
said, explaining that it wasn’t always easy. “There were a lot of relays to
get the animal where it was going,” she said. “Some didn’t understand we
were in a big truck and kept trying to arrange a meet at Starbucks, but
we worked it out.”
Luttrell still has one dog from the program, along with another rescued
elsewhere.
She understands that there’s a message in how far she’s come, with
credit to the help she received getting started, and she wants others to
know their lives can improve, too. “I want people to know you can make
a future for yourself,” she said. “If you’re stuck in a rut in your life, go out
there and do something for yourself.”
As a member of the family of trucking, she has a simple message to
her fellow drivers. “We are all on the same team and we all have some of
the same struggles,” she said. “Let’s work together.”
14
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THE TRUCKER
News Channel
Join Dave Compton and Jessica Rose every
week as they bring you the only weekly
news show just for Truckers.
Tune in and watch at TheTrucker.com

THETRUCKER.COM

HIGHER COMPENSATION
ON FEWER MILES
Most Singles earn between $160,000-$185,000 on 70k-90k miles
Most Teams earn between $200,000-$250,000 on 75k-95k miles
Guaranteed Average Weekly Revenue
DRIVE LESS, MAKE MORE!
Family owned and operated since
1949, our elite 100% Owner-
Operator team sets the standard
for live entertainment trucking.
Are you ready to join us?
• ALL MILES PAID!
• Paid fuel surcharge on ALL miles
• Paid fuel permits
• Paid cargo/liability insurance
• Referral bonus program
• Weekly settlements & direct deposit
• No-touch freight
• Pre-planned schedules
• Cash safety bonus
• Base plate program
Must be 23 years old with
2-3 years verifiable OTR, DOT
physical/drug test, clean
MVR, with no more than 2
violations in the past 3 years.
855-654-0485
www.DriveForClarkTransfer.com

Boyle Transport ................................................24
Celadon Central Marketing Transport ......................... 11 17
Central Clark Transportation Marketing Transport .........................................6 5
Clark Coal City Transportation ............................................................19 20
Coal Containerport City Cob ...................................................21 19
Container East West Port Express ........................................... 2-3 7
Dart NuWay ..................................................................7 6
East Payne West ..................................................................23
Express 2, 3
NuWay P.I.&I. Motor Express ....................................... 21 11
P.I.&I. Schneider Motor ......................................................... Express 8-9 15
Schneider Star Freight ..........................................................5 8, 9
Star Turquoise Freight ...........................................................15 17
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Sumit UPS Freight Express .......................................................13 12
TMC 18
UPS Freight 13
Western Express 23
22
22
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Trucking
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Hundreds of Jobs www.TruckJobSeekers.com