Truck diesel cracked the $5 per gallon mark in March for the first time in history, skyrocketing to over $5.50 at the beginning of May. Sustainable energy advocates tout excessively high prices as an emissions-reducing event, but diesel costs appear to be dragging the country over an economic cliff. Despite raging inflation, not nearly enough is being done to restore reasonable prices at the pump. Everyday Americans would be well-served to understand the fate of the economy is hitched to truck drivers and what they pay for diesel.
“To cover the increased cost of diesel, truckers must increase the rates charged to haul freight. These increased rates are then passed on to consumers via higher costs at the retail level,” California Trucking Association Ron Faulkner stated in a Sacramento Bee op-ed. “So, you are paying for high prices of fuel both at the pump and at the grocery checkout line.”
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, truckers and other industries that rely on diesel paid just $2.399 per gallon in May 2020. In two years, that baseline trucking industry cost rose to $5.509 on May 2, 2022, and it shows no signs of waning. Driven largely by spikes in fuel, inflation reached a four-decade high in March, as the consumer price index soared by 8.5 percent over March 2021.
For the average over-the-road trucker, diesel remains the highest expense when transporting 72 percent of the country’s goods and materials. Reports indicate that escalating prices at the pump increased this expense from about $10,000 per month to $18,000. That gets passed along to consumers — as CTA president Ron Faulkner noted. But what working families may not realize is that the current 40-year-high inflation has the potential to get far worse. The same truck diesel causing inflation today could be much heavier come autumn as the agricultural sector incurs the expense.
“Today, diesel engines power the majority of agricultural equipment in the U.S. and around the world necessary to plant cultivate and harvest crops and transport them to markets or for processing and then delivered ultimately to the consumer,” according to the Diesel Technology Forum. “Diesel engines power more than two-thirds of all farm equipment, transport 90 percent of its product, and pump one-fifth of its water in the United States. Ninety-six percent of the large trucks that move agricultural commodities to railheads and warehouses are powered by a diesel engine. One hundred percent of the freight locomotives, marine river grain barges, and ocean-going vessels that deliver these products to markets at home and abroad are powered by diesel.”
People experiencing price shock at the grocery store are seeing only the tip of the spear. The $5.50 per gallon cost in 2022 has yet to be added to the price of groceries. Working families won’t feel the brunt until produce is harvested and makes its way through the supply chain — almost exclusively fueled by diesel — to the checkout line.
The country is embroiled in a significant fight with inflation, and the precursors to another Great Recession are evident. Loss in consumer confidence, volatile stock markets, higher interest rates, manufacturing slowdown, and other harbingers are beginning to crop up. Correcting the trajectory of truck diesel prices at the pump may be the only solution.
Sources: foxbusiness.com, abcnews.com, cnbc.com
Let’s not forget, the oil companies are making RECORD PROFITS. They and OPEC control this.
We were making record profits 6 months ago.. Does anyone realize oil companies have overhead too?
Really! So their overhead all of the suddenly jumped out control just like that. BS!!! Crooks and that’s all you can call it.
The Biden Administration’s childish perspective on a national energy policy and resulting War on Oil and Coal Energy caused this outcome. Biden and his Leftist/Socialist True believers are seriously and purposely damaging this country and don’t give a sh*t.
Less speed better mpg and less greenhouse effects sounds really like bs but ooh well hope those electric trucks run good and have long extension chords
Then the question becomes how are we generating this electricity? Oil, coal, natural gas, etc. A small percentage comes from wind turbines and solar fields. We don’t have many nuclear power plants either. I’m not buying into the electric hype until we have better power generation infrastructure.
What a lot of critics don’t tell you is whether those oil company’s “record profits” are gross or net. They also avoid the fact that most of the spending for research and development into alternatives is being done by those very same oil companies. Just take a minute to do your own deep dive into all the synthetics that are out there. From the 0W20 in all the new cars to the T-5 and 6 in your rig. That research wasn’t free.
Truckers pass the cost on to customers? Somebody done bumped their head! Brokers are gouging us at $2 a mile when 4 months ago when fuel was low we were getting $4?
Brokers are the real crooks with the hidden profits. Ask for costumer rate get black balled!
Everyone thinks the cost of fuel is driving prices at the store up. I call B.S. and I have the proof as far as what the rates are to transport freight. Two months ago I hauled a load from Michigan to Maine. A frozen load. It paid 4500. It’s now paying 3500. How the the rate drop a $1000 when the cost to transport has doubled. And this is just one small example. The brokers are not passing the fuel surcharge on to the owner operator. Rates have dropped all over the country yet the cost to transport has doubled
Fuel has gotten this high before. Have you forgotten that?
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I heard oil companies are making history in most profits ever. Greed
The only person losing money is the driver.
Every trucker & corporate need to just shut down for a week or until, Oil industry do something about the price, only way the corrupt politicians will do some will fix the problem
Every trucker & corporate need to just shut down All trucking companies,
Except independent contractors don’t get to raise rates. I’m being paid the same rates as before the fuel prices started to rise. I’m making about $800 a week less.
“Sustainable energy advocates tout excessively high prices as an emissions-reducing event …” Will they also see drivers shutting down and empty grocery shelves as a “weight reducing event”? Think about it. Fewer groceries available means less eating is possible so fat people are essentially put on a forced diet and will lose weight thereby becoming healthier. With no gas for their cars, people will have to walk to the grocery store thereby getting exercise so many need. Again, making them healthier. (Let me know when your members of Congress look slimmer and healthier.) What about those who are already healthy and maintain a healthy lifestyle? “Some collateral damage is expected and accepted.”
The people making these decisions feel no pain . Do any of you regret your 2020 vote yet ?
Boy’s and girl’s let us not forget what Joe did his first day in office. He shut down the pipeline from Canada and cut off drilling on any federal land. He also said he was going to make sure he shut down the oil industry, and we should all go out and buy a 70 to 100,000 dollar electric car. With that said, banks are backing off lending to oil companies. Put that all together you get higher priced. I lived through Jimmy Carter’s administration it was not fun. Car rates were 24 percent, gas got higher than ever and high inflation. Only way to change this is to change administration.
But,But Joe doesn’t tweet mean things.
Capitalist, middle class loving patriot leaves oval office. Energy cheap. Marxist, elitist, hair sniffing, serial liar, non-tweeting(lol), bribe taking criminal is put into office by Zuckerburg financed election officials. Marxist bribe taker kills oil supply to keep $$/barrel very high for is briber Putin so Putin can finance his takeovers. Takes bribes from electric vehicle mfgrs too.
Connect the dots….