While most Americans are gasping for gasoline prices, truckers are dealing with the price of diesel. Diesel, which cost less than $ 4 a gallon last month, has jumped to an all-time high of more than $ 5 a gallon, a rise that is hitting small transportation companies.
“If prices stay that way, a lot of people will be out of business,” truck driver William Lytle told CBS News. “Dig into your profits.”
Lytle said the cost of filling a truck that can hold up to 200 gallons of diesel means the profits have evaporated.
Truck driver Japjeet Singh recently bought a second truck, which can no longer be afforded.
“I win whatever I win, I’m just picking up the truck and the drivers,” Singh told CBS News.
Diesel in Virginia exceeds $ 5 per gallon, but in California it is over $ 6. While normal gas prices have stabilized this week, diesel prices are expected to rise.
High prices are coming down through the economy. More than 70 percent of the goods are transported by truck, according to the American Trucking Associations. Now, fuel surcharges are increasingly affecting the prices of everything from groceries to building materials.
“Big fleets, small fleets, all use diesel,” Bob Costello, chief economist at American Trucking Associations, told CBS News. “When we go to a store or buy it online, almost everything comes in a truck. That means I think we all, as consumers, can expect higher prices overall.”
Rising prices are likely behind the reported diesel thefts in California and Texas, which were captured by security cameras.
“They had a trap in their vehicle,” said Jerry Thayil, whose family’s gas station was stolen. “They put a hose down there and vacuumed it with a bomb.”
- In:
- economy
- gas prices
- Inflation
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