The Naples-based broker has seen the number of its subcontractor truckers drop from 50 to five. "A lot of them have left the area. A lot of the guys have lost their trucks due to the slowdown in work," she says. "When we do get work, I don’t have enough truckers to cover it."

In this soft market, Fillmore hasn’t found steps that are proving successful in adapting to the increased fuel costs. In fact, she’s losing jobs to other brokers, who are cutting prices.

Other companies in trucking, air travel and motor-home sales are trying different tactics to make it through the tough times.

Odyssey Trucking Inc. is requesting a fuel surcharge, but operations manager José Moreno says the customers don’t want to adjust. The Fort Myers company subcontracts with about 50 dump trucks and owns five trucks. He says clients are raising prices but they aren’t passing that money on to drivers buying the fuel. "It seems like the driver is getting the short end of the stick. We’re hurting pretty bad," says Moreno, who laid off two workers in late March.

Fuel surcharges also are being levied by airlines and charter services such as Naples Air Inc., based on how much gas is required to make the trip. For example, if the fuel at a destination airport is more expensive than what Naples Air pays at Naples Municipal Airport, the surcharge is applied. Sometimes it can be $2 more per gallon. "People understand that concept. [They’re] having to pay more to put fuel in their car; why would it be in different for an airplane?" says Naples Air co-owner Catherine Fay.

Naples Air also increased prices for flights by 4 percent late last year, but Fay says that doesn’t compare with the 40 percent hike in fuel prices since last year. "Our profit is getting squeezed," she says, although business is up from last year, helping lessen the blow.

The company and its pilots consider costs with every travel decision. Fay finds out the landing fees and fuel prices from all the fixed base operators at destination airports so pilots can go to the cheapest alternative when they arrive. She also helps some customers choose destination airports with lower fuel costs.

At North Trail RV Center in Fort Myers, salespeople are now introducing prospective customers to motor home owners or showing them videos of buyers talking about their experiences and costs.

"It is definitely something that we just started doing," says sales manager Joe Jackson. "Just about every salesman here has a special guest that they can just get on
the phone."

Odyssey Trucking also is relying on dedicated customers, and trying to help them by lowering its percentage of the brokerage fee from 10 percent to 7 percent.

"That’s the best I can do," Moreno says. "I still have to fork this money out in advance to these drivers to help them."