My wife is worried about shortages.  She specifically was listening to a story about an independent trucker who couldn't afford to fill his trucks.

I see there are about 11% of all truckers who are independent.  Their costs can't be any different from major companies.

Why can't they just raise their rates?  I know that in certain cases a company they truck for says they will pay X cents per mile but at some point nobody is going to accept that and products will set. 

If big companies have the same costs or maybe higher in some cases it seems that freight rates will just naturally rise with fuel cost.

No doubt a lot of you know a lot more about this.  I'd like to know to explain to my wife.