It has been yet another record-setting day at the fuel pump, across the country, as the national average for a gallon of diesel fuel has skyrocketed to $5.18. This is a level that even the most scrutinizing experts had long thought was impossible. In a recent report from gasbuddy.com, the average cost for a gallon of diesel fuel is now a whole dollar higher than the average cost of a regular unleaded gasoline.
Previously, the biggest diesel-unleaded margin was $0.98.
In Pennsylvania, the average price of diesel is typically higher than the national average. According to a note from AAA, diesel fuel is $5.61, on average, in the commonwealth, this week. This is up at least 40 percent from just one month ago. In some parts of the state—like Luzerne County—the price of diesel could be higher than $6.50 per gallon.
Of course, this is hitting truck drivers pretty hard. For example, a fill up that may have cost $400 last year could cost upwards of $1,000 today. But that is not the only struggle that truck drivers are facing. Indeed, the payout on loads is also lower.
If fuel prices go up and payload value goes down, truckers are starting to take significant losses. And those losses have to be accounted for somewhere, which is why many people are already starting to see higher prices at basic merchants like the supermarket.
Indeed, California Trucking Association President Ron Faulkner comments, “To cover the increased cost of diesel, truckers must increase the rates charged to haul freight. These increased rats are then passed on to consumers via higher costs at the retail level.”
Also the president of Faulkner Trucking, he advises that the average consumer will definitely see higher prices at both the fuel pump as well as the grocery store.
