Independent Truckers Watch Income Shrink

As fuel costs rise to record highs, independent truckers said they are watching their incomes shrink, KMBC's Dion Lim reported.

Julie Michaels and her husband said filling up the gas tank on their rig costs them $1,200. Michaels said they have no savings and no retirement.

"Life has changed. I'm wearing a hat now because I can't afford to dye my hair. I haven't gotten a haircut in six months," Julie Michaels said.

Three years ago, the couple invested their money in a big rig.

"We thought we could make money, and for the first two years we did," Michaels said.

Diesel is at an all-time high in Missouri. It's just under $4 a gallon. That is $1 per mile, Lim reported.

"I'm taking in zero. I'm going in the hole. We owe the bank more than ever. We keep owing," Michaels said.

Lim reported that the Michaels plan to hang onto their truck for as long as they can to try and make ends meet. They are looking for other jobs.

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News & Politics

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• truckers
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• truck
• drivers
• fuel
• costs
• diesel
• high
• gas
• prices