Diesel fuel shortages are worsening inflation in the U.S.
t cost Carl Smith $999 to refill the 275-gallons fuel tank of his semi-trailer on Sunday for a run from Ohio to Wisconsin—and that’s just because his fuel credit card cuts off at $1,000. In the nearly 40 years he’s been driving, the price of diesel fuel has never been that high. “That’s the most it ever cost me to fill up, and I didn’t even get all the way filled,” he says.
Diesel prices are the highest they’ve been in the U.S. since the government began tracking them, and will likely go even higher this summer as demand remains high and as forecasters predict this year will see an, which can idle refineries for days. The price of diesel went above $5.50 a gallon in the beginning of May, and has stayed there ever since, a 70% increase from just a year ago.
The high prices to move goods come at a time when many companies say they’re already having trouble finding truck drivers. They might deter owner-operators from driving as many loads, because some freight brokers push back against continuing to raise fuel surcharges. That could lead to an even. “It’s just a matter of math—if you’re not getting paid as much to haul a load, there’s no reason to run that load,” says Rebecca Oyler, the president and CEO of the Pennsylvania Motor Truck Assn.
Diesel isn’t the only petroleum-based product seeing surging demand at a time when global supplies are limited. Demand and prices are also up for gasoline and jet fuel, as well as things like tires that are made of petroleum. The dynamic then becomes cyclical: to meet increasing demand trucks have to run more miles, which means they are burning more fuel and using more tires, which then creates the need for even more petroleum.
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