Trucking industry impacted by rising diesel fuel prices

SPARTANBURG, S.C. (FOX Carolina) - Filling up your tank might mean emptying out your wallet.

“It’s ridiculous,” said Lee Dickhausen, who lives in Forest City, NC.

“I live in Spartanburg and I drive to Greenville everyday for school so the high gas prices, being a student is not fun,” added Megan Chance.

Gas prices are now the most expensive in U.S. history.

Diesel fuel prices are also on the rise.

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the national average for diesel this week is $4.849 which is a 75 cent increase from last week alone.

At ACME Logistics, the small trucking company has about 100 employees and carries anything from auto parts to household items.

Right now their biggest challenge is how fast prices are rising.

“To put it simply we’re just trying to catch up right? The biggest thing is making sure that we stay on top of it, making sure that we’re coordinating with our customers. The biggest thing, coordinating with our employees right, our owner operators are paying for this out of pocket,” explained VP of Operations Reed Erskine.

South Carolina Trucking Association President Rick Todd says what’s going on now, combined with issues from the pandemic including supply chain problems, worker and equipment shortage, and more, is an even bigger challenge than expected.

“Then we’ve got a war going on and now we see inflation like crazy and then add to this escalating fuel prices. It really is a very challenging time,” said Todd.

At ACME Logistics, each truck uses around $1,200 dollars of fuel a week on average.

The company fears that number will only go up.

While trucking companies feel the increase now, everyone else will feel it soon when buying goods.

“In the end I’d expect a consumer, maybe not immediately like us but in the long term there will definitely be increases in how much you have to pay. It’s just inevitable,” said Erskine.

Trucking companies say it’s too early to make any drastic changes right now, but everyone will be keeping an eye on how high gas prices go and how long this surge lasts.

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