Truers discuss unprecedented diesel price surge

U.S. truckers discussed the unprecedented diesel price surge on Thursday, noting that the situation is a crunch for drivers and explained what they are doing to try and alleviate the burden.

Peter Latta, chairman and CEO of A. Duie Pyle trucking company in New York, said in an interview on Thursday that it was an unprecedented first time that we have seen this kind of rapid escalation to this level.

The CEO said that with this kind of escalation, we try to break even on it, and sometimes sometimes you do, and sometimes you don't. Latta said the average price of diesel has hit all-time highs in the United States as energy markets around the world are dealing with ongoing disruptions due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

According to the American Automobile Association AAA, the average price of a gallon of diesel was $5.53 on Thursday, down slightly from the week before and about 50 cents higher than the month before, according to the association, which noted that the price was more than $2 cheaper a year ago.

Gas prices are rising and have been hitting records, at $4.60 a gallon on Thursday, slightly higher from the day before and an increase of nearly 50 cents compared to the previous month.

The trucking industry has been hit hard by the diesel surge, while average Americans are feeling the pain at the pump with record gas prices.

A truck driver with 20 years of experience told FOX Business on Thursday that he has never seen prices as high as they are now, stressing that they are way too high. He added that he tries not to idle the trucks when they are not running in an effort to reduce costs.

The high cost of diesel is being passed on to consumers for everything from electronics to groceries.

Inflation is close to a four-decade high with the consumer price index, which measures a broad basket of goods, which rose 8.3% in April from a year ago, as well as a 8.5% year-over-year surge in March. The Labor Department said earlier this month that prices jumped by 0.3% in the one month period from March.