Record diesel prices take toll on truckers; consumers to feel pain next
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Robert Bonner Jr. has been a truck driver for 28 years, and the current price of diesel gas is the worst he’s ever seen it.
He’s questioning his future. “I don’t even know how long I’m going to keep doing this because it’s not even worth it to me anymore. It’s not,” Bonner said Tuesday.
It’s the same for Chris Drake, who has been driving trucks for two decades. “I just spent $300 and didn’t even fill it up,” he said at an Indianapolis truck stop.
Thankfully for Drake, his company pays for his gas. He says the consumer will start to feel the pain as well. “We’re probably going to have to end up raising our prices for our jobs we do. Each job we do is billed individually for each customer,” Drake said.
Bonner isn’t so lucky. He fills up his tank on his own, and his wallet and more importantly his family feel the impact. “I spend over $4,000 a week on diesel, and if you’re making $6,000 and spending $4,000 in the tank, with the bills I got, it’s not working,” Bonner said.
The national average for diesel hit another record of $5.54 a gallon on Monday, up 22 cents in a week and 49 cents in a month, according to AAA. Diesel powers the trucks that haul goods around the country and high transportation costs will likely get passed along at least in part to consumers.
The latest update of the Consumer Price Index was scheduled to be released at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday.
CNN contributed to this story.