Long-haul trucker Miguel Caveda recently spent around $1,800 on diesel fuel during a week on the road, about 40% more than he typically paid before the Iran war began.
The sudden surge in diesel prices has eroded Caveda’s profit and upended his business in other ways, too. He has started searching out lighter hauls and avoiding hilly routes that guzzle fuel. He is also keenly aware that the steeper fuel costs will eventually trickle into the prices consumers pay for goods he is carrying—from tires to watermelon—assuming his business survives.
“Any major repair, like, god forbid an engine failure or anything like that, I’m out of the business,” the Tampa, Fla.-based trucker said in an interview from a rest-stop in Charlotte, N.C., where he was transporting a load of empty bottles. “I’m out.”
The average gallon of diesel crossed $5.20 nationwide on Saturday, up around 40% from a month ago, according to the AAA. Eight of the 10 states where diesel prices have shot up most compared with a month ago are in the Southeast—led by South Carolina, where prices have risen 51% since Feb. 21 and where Caveda paid $853 alone for 161 gallons at a station in Columbia on Monday.