Surging gasoline prices remain the chief concern for most drivers, but diesel prices will also hit your wallet even if you don't drive a big rig. The average price of diesel reached an all-time high of $5.47 per gallon last week, and could continue to climb. That is placing more pressure on trucking companies, which are still struggling with a massive driver shortage. What it means for consumers is higher prices on anything transported by truck, from groceries to electronics.
Diesel prices are just part of the large inflationary spiral that has hit the economy in the past year. "Everything, from wood prices to toilet paper, to beef, chicken, gasoline, diesel...it's all in concert going up at the same rate," says Jim Grundy, CEO of Texas-based Sisu Energy.
"Seventy-two percent of Americans live paycheck to paycheck, and 40 percent of Americans are on fixed incomes," he continues. "They can't afford these rising food costs, fuel costs and diesel prices...it's catastrophic."
Grundy tells KTRH that while there are many factors beyond the industry's control, there is a simple solution that would begin to reverse the trend of spiraling fuel prices. "Drill...that's the answer," he says. "It's right underneath our feet, it's right here in the ground."
"We have enough oil and gas in the U.S. to lower the price substantially," Grundy continues. "We could cut the price in half within six months if they would open the pipelines up, let us drill and let us extract."