Trucking experts in Arizona concerned about rising fuel cost

Recently in Arizona, diesel prices have hovered around $4 a gallon – up $1.55 per gallon in the past year, according to the American Automobile Association (AAA). Those rising costs are a concern for everyone, Jamie Warren reported for ABC15, but truck drivers are hit especially hard.

Tim Klaus, owner of California trucking company TDK Transportation, told Warren that he regularly drives through Arizona. He said he has had to raise his rates due to the cost of diesel going up.

“I said, ‘I’m going to have to raise my rates, I’m sorry,’ and they’re begging me not to because there’s not much left after the trucking expense to sell their product. You know, they’re just making it,” Klaus said. “I bid my loads months in advance so it’s really hard to figure out what the price of fuel is going to be. So, I told my customers, it’s got to go up. I’m losing three to four hundred dollars a load in potential profit.”

Arizona Trucking Association President Tony Bradley told ABC15 that they are watching diesel prices closely. If fuel costs continue to rise, so will the prices in stores, according to Bradley.

“As those prices continue to stay high obviously the consumer’s going to pay more as we incur higher fuel prices,” he said.

Story courtesy of ABC15.