Trucking Companies Dealing With High Diesel Costs

(WTOL) – Trucking companies are enduring much higher costs as diesel prices escalate along with the price of gasoline.

For Garner Trucking in Findlay, that means paying nearly double what they did for diesel fuel this time last year for their fleet of 86 trucks.

“A couple years ago we were paying $2.35 a gallon, last year it was $2.89 and here we are we’re almost double that, so it’s getting a little difficult to deal with,” said Tim Chrulski, Garner’s Chief Operations Officer.

Chrulski says they do adjust their fuel surcharge based on the current price, but with prices this high, the surcharges aren’t covering all of the extra spending.

Ohio Chamber of Commerce President Steve Stivers says even people who don’t drive a diesel vehicle will be affected by the higher diesel prices by other costs going up.

“The food you buy at the grocery store because the farmer uses fuel, the trucker uses fuel to get the food to the market – everything has fuel embedded in it.”

Diesel fuel is approaching a national average cost of five dollars per gallon.