Gas prices have reached as high as five or six dollars in various parts of the country in recent days, and everyday citizens are not the only ones feeling the “pain at the pump.”
According to leaders of the trucking industry, truck drivers are spending nearly $1,000 or more on filling their tanks, “eating costs” as industry leaders warn that store prices could rise as a result.
“I mean, you can see right now, I’m getting 60 gallons for $300 dollars,” said Ben Lee, a truck driver who filled up his tank in Florence, Kentucky last Tuesday and spent nearly $1,000 on fuel.
“We’re just going to have to bite it for now and just eat the extra costs.”
The national average for diesel fuel hit $4.75 this past week, and according to Lee, it could be tough to keep driving under current conditions.
Consumer Prices Could Rise Even Higher Soon, Truck Leader Says
Kevin Burch, the former chairman of the American Trucking Association, said that independent drivers and trucking companies set their own fuel surcharge and add it to the price companies pay to have products shipped to them.
This allows drivers to be compensated for fluctuating fuel prices according to the Butler County (Ohio) Journal-News.
“It definitely is passed on to the consumer in higher freight rates,” Burch said on March 9.
“Could be a week, could be two weeks,” he estimated as far as predictions on when consumer goods prices may rise as a result.
“It’s going to be tough for the small independent owner/operators out there who are trying to move America’s goods,” Burch said.
“They just might say, you know what, I’m just going to park it for a few days, maybe a week, and see what happens rather than pay that big price.”
The price changes come at a time when the U.S. is already dealing with a driver shortage that could cause shipping delays. Along with inflation, some drivers are having a tough time.
“Everybody is, like, emotionally fatigued, you know,” Lee said.
“Everybody is trying to sort, trying to protect their mental health because it was rough. Then, you go right into this,” said Lee.
Tennessee Truck Driver Takes to Instagram to Share “Reality Check” on Rising Gas Prices (Warning: Contains Explicit Language)
Aside from the Kentucky truck drivers’ warnings, a man from Tennessee showed his gas tab while filling up at a station in the state on March 10.
“I’m going to give you a reality check….$1,052 to fill a semi truck in Tennessee,” the man said.
“It is currently right now, $5.15 a gallon. What the (expletive) are y’all gonna do next month when a gallon of milk costs 11 dollars?”
View this post on Instagram
One person in the comments responded by saying the following.
“I dont feel sorry this guy because if he is an independently owned operator he can write this off on his taxes,” jeremy.jones.397948 said.
“If he works for a company he will get reimbursed.”
Another user named jani_melender had the following to say.
“We, as in humanity, needs to drastically reduce their energy consumption (on average). The amount of literally unnecessary products, like milk, that are sold and transported across the world in volumes that are hard to imagine (and) needs to come down.”
What do you think about these developments?
Have you done anything to prepare for possible inflation, and do you have any money saving tips on gas or other expenses?
Let us know in the comments section of this article, and thanks as always for reading.
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