NEW YORK — When long-haul trucker Deb LaBree sets out on the road to deliver pharmaceuticals, she has strategies to hold down costs. She avoids the West Coast and the Northeast, where diesel prices are highest. She organizes her delivery route to minimize “deadheading” - driving an empty truck in between deliveries.
And if a customer’s load is too far away or they can’t pay more for fuel? She turns the job down.
“It breaks my heart because I either have to say, ‘No, I can’t afford to,’ or ’I can, but you’re going to have to pay some of my fuel to get me there,’ ” LaBree said.