BALTIMORE — As the war in Iran rages on, the cost of fuel only continues to rise with no end in sight.
According to Gas Buddy, Diesel is just 20 cents shy of its record high costs. Consumers across the board will be paying more because of it.
“We like to say that you really have nothing without trucking, and so as our costs go up, so do consumer costs,” President and CEO of MD Motor Truck Association Louis Campion said.
Drivers already bracing for high prices at the pump can expect growing costs across the board
The association has 800 member companies.
Campion says that labor costs are the largest expense for these businesses but fuel costs are now beginning to rival them, making it harder to absorb the inflating prices.
Some companies, like Amazon, now have a fuel surcharge, which can recoup 60-70% percent of the increases. But as Campion points out, most of the industry is made up of smaller teams with 10 trucks or less, that may not be able to do the same.
“We're a low margin, high volume industry,” Campion explained.
The costly fuel stops, now the norm for truckers, make an independent owner-operator who goes by L.T. think twice about taking more jobs. She can’t pass on costs, and the pay to transport supplies hasn’t quite caught up.
“We’re actually paying, in my opinion, to run somebody else’s freight… It makes you want to work less. The more you work, the more you spend,” L.T. said. “So I go home early, and hopefully I can feed my family the next week."
While there are ways to save money on gas for drivers, like driving slower or shopping around for cheaper gas, the rising costs will eventually catch up with everyone as it’ll raise prices for groceries, supplies and more.
That’s especially the case in Maryland, where 93% of communities are reliant on goods delivered by truck.
According to Gas Buddy, this week a regular gallon of gas jumped up to $4.19 across Maryland, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. That's more than a dollar than what is was a month ago. The White House’s continued escalations overseas have provided no much-needed relief.
“If we continue to be on this course of escalations and potential new attacks, it's not impossible that we could eventually hit new record levels for the price of gasoline,” head of petroleum analysis at Gas Buddy Patrick De Haan explained.
Meaning everyone may have to make tough choices down the road.
“You either stay in it and maybe it’ll go down, down even more. Or you try to stay positive and hope it [goes] up. But whatever you do, decide before you’re broke,” L.T. said.
