Price of diesel hits all-time high, straining the trucking industry
A gallon of diesel hit $5.296 on Sunday, according to AAA
Soaring cost of diesel ripples through economy
Gas prices continue to rise as inflation surges in the U.S. FOX Business' Madison Alworth with more.
The price of diesel hit an all-time high in the United States this week as energy markets around the world cope with ongoing disruptions amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The average price of a gallon of diesel was $5.296 on Sunday, up about 4.3% from one week ago and nearly twice as much as one year ago.
Gas prices are also elevated, standing at $4.187 a gallon on Sunday, down slightly from the all-time high of $4.331 on March 11, according to AAA.
Although gasoline prices have dropped recently, the price of diesel fuel is still high, as the sign at this Flying J Truck Stop advertises in Pearl, Miss., Wednesday, April 20, 2022. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis / AP Newsroom)
While average Americans are feeling the pain at the pump with high gas prices, the trucking industry has been hit hard by the diesel surge.
"The prices are skyrocketing, and we still don’t get good prices for the loads," Michal Agboire, who works for Maitland Trucking, told WNCN. "If it goes any higher than this, and the price of the load not coming up, then maybe we just call it quits."
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The high cost of diesel is being partially passed on to consumers for everything from electronics to groceries.
Gas prices are displayed at a gas station in Long Beach, Calif., Wednesday, March 9, 2022. The average price for a gallon of gasoline in the U.S. hit a record $4.17 on Tuesday as the country prepares to ban Russian oil imports. (AP Photo/Ashley Landi (AP Photo/Ashley Landis / AP Newsroom)
"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," Ron Faulkner, the president of Faulkner Trucking and 2022 president of the California Trucking Association, wrote in an op-ed at the Sacramento Bee this week.
"So, you are paying for high prices of fuel both at the pump and at the grocery checkout line."
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Overall inflation hit a four-decade high in March, as the consumer price index, which measures a broad basket of goods, jumped 8.5% over March 2021.