| Updated: 2/25/2008 8:42 am |
Published: 2/24/2008 10:24 pm |
Diesel prices are at an all-time high, putting pressure on truck drivers across the country. Here in Arkansas, the average price for a gallon of diesel shot up to $3.45, nine cents lower than the national average.
Drivers FOX16 talked with Sunday say no matter where you go, the rising cost of fuel is cutting into their bottom line. Mirela Maciuca and her husband started their own trucking company five years ago. Since diesel prices have jumped, her husband's pulling double duty as a mechanic on their fleet.
One of their three trucks is off the road right now because they can't afford to pay a driver. "If it's going that way, I don't think many of us are going to be on the road. If it was up to me, I would go on strike if all the big companies would agree with that. Big companies can make it. Small companies like us will die soon," says Maciuca.
Veteran driver Paul Fisher agrees. "Our wages are going down and the cost to operate is going up."
Every driver FOX16 talked to is upset about the higher diesel prices, but this also impacts you. It means you'll be paying higher prices for things you buy every day and big ticket items, like the building materials Randy Hurlbert hauls. "You don't get the rates that to fluctuate with the fuel costs. Basically running for nothing," says Hurlbert.
"You'll be running more for less money. You'll be out on the street a lot more than before. Takes you away from your kids, your family, and you're making nothing," says Maciuca.
The Maciucas spend about $500 every time they fill up, but they say their tanks are small and five years ago when they first started out, it only cost them $200.
