CINCINNATI — A fill-up for long-haul truck driver Felix Rivero Monday stopped just short of $1,200.
WATCH: Nearly $1,200 to fill up: Tri-State truckers feel diesel spike
The owner-operator pumped 182 gallons of diesel into his semi at a Florence truck stop, totaling $1,168. Rivero said he drives roughly 3,000 to 4,000 miles a week and burns through about 550 to 600 gallons of diesel during an average week.
“I'm refilling it every day. 50 gallons here, 15 gallons there, try to save as much diesel as possible,” Rivero said.
For Rivero, fuel is not simply the cost of getting to work. His truck is his business, meaning higher diesel prices cut directly into his bottom line.
He's finding savings wherever he can.
Rivero recently installed an electric auxiliary power unit, or APU, himself. It allows him to turn off his truck instead of idling the engine when he needs power. He estimates the change saves him about 10 gallons of diesel a day.
The savings add up when diesel costs several dollars a gallon.
“This is our revenue, which is — that's the only way we can make money,” Rivero said.
Rivero said he's in a better position than some other owner-operators because his truck is paid off and he does not have a mortgage or children to support.
“I'm single, and I don't have a family,” Rivero said. “How about the other people that have family, mortgages, loans, this, that?”
Higher diesel prices ripple through freight industry
The financial pressure facing individual truckers can extend far beyond the cab of a semi.
Cincinnati-based Total Quality Logistics, or TQL, works with about 80,000 trucking and transportation firms across North America. Julia Daugherty with TQL said the company oversaw more than 4 million shipments last year, moving everything from fruits and vegetables to toys and other consumer goods.
Higher fuel prices mean higher costs to make those trips.
“For us, what that means is higher rates,” Daugherty said. “So it just flat out costs more to move things.”
Daugherty said roughly 70% of freight in the United States moves by truck. When fuel costs remain elevated, she said, there is only so much of the added expense that trucking companies, logistics firms and retailers can absorb before consumers potentially feel the effects.
The timing of those price increases can depend on what is being shipped.
Perishable products such as fruits and vegetables need to move quickly and could see the impact sooner, Daugherty said. Shelf-stable products may give companies more flexibility.
“If it's short-term, usually the system can absorb the cost increase,” Daugherty said. “If it's long-term, that can have real economic effects.”
TQL is also seeing those costs across a massive network.
Daugherty said each trucker's fill-up is costing significantly more than it did a year ago. Multiply higher fuel bills across tens of thousands of daily shipments, she said, and the financial impact becomes substantial.
Diesel also extends beyond trucks. Daugherty pointed out that railroads rely on the fuel, too, making it difficult to insulate the transportation system from a prolonged increase of diesel prices.
How higher diesel costs can reach your grocery bill
Gbenga Ajilore, chief economist for the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, said consumers can feel higher fuel costs at several points along a product's journey.
Consider food.
A farmer may first spend more on diesel to operate tractors and other equipment. The product then has to be transported, adding another layer of fuel costs before it ever reaches a grocery store.
“If they're spending more there, that has to get passed on somewhere,” Ajilore said.
Ajilore said that same dynamic applies to products ordered online and delivered by truck.
The result is a chain that connects the price displayed at a diesel pump to the price consumers may eventually see on store shelves.
For Rivero, however, the immediate concern is keeping his truck moving.
He said some truckers have families, mortgages, truck payments and unexpected repair bills to cover on top of fuel. He has watched other drivers sell their trucks as financial pressures mount.
“People are against the wall,” Rivero said.
For now, Rivero said he plans to keep driving — and keep looking for every gallon he can save.
“We just got to keep holding on and wish for the best,” he said.
