Rising fuel costs are often at the top of trucking industry statistics because they have such a broad effect on the economy. Ordinary citizens just about take to the street whenever gasoline jumps ten cents a gallon, but compared to a trucker’s dependency on fuel, paying an extra quarter to drive to the grocery store is nothing. Few people notice the trends in diesel prices, but anyone in the trucking industry does. They’re rising steadily, which makes even daylong hauls expensive, which is a cost that threatens the survival of many trucking companies.
Just two and a half years ago, a gallon of diesel cost around $2.50. Today, that number has increased almost 65%, easily one of the largest expenses trucking companies have to deal with. Depending on their loads and equipment, truckers can only get between six and eight miles to the gallon. That means a two-hour trip would’ve cost $90 in 2009; today, truckers can expect to spend over $200 for the same trip on fuel alone.
These are trucking industry statistics everyone should watch, because eventually these costs trickle down to ordinary consumers. Everything in our economy moves on trucks, so retailers, farmers, and other citizens will eventually see these diesel costs translated into higher price tags on the products they buy. The translation isn’t immediate, though. Trucking companies can’t hike their prices as quickly as fuel costs, so they’re often forced to bear the brunt of these expenses. Smaller companies face the risk of bankruptcy, a loss of competition that will similarly affect all consumers. The larger companies can usually weather the storm, but it’s a storm that everyone has to face in one way or another.
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