Diesel fuel prices trend downward but truck drivers are still feeling the pain at the pump | KLRT
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Arkansas saw a record high again for regular gas on Thursday at $4.12 a gallon, but diesel prices are seeing a slow decline.
The price of diesel fuel is down an average of 7 cents per gallon in one day. The last record high Arkansas had for diesel gas was on May 11th at $5.30 per gallon.
As of Thursday, the average price is $5.26.
Even with the prices trending downward, truck driver and owner of Road Legendz trucking, Jeremy Washington isn’t optimistic about the prices.
Washington is fairly new to the trucking business. He started his own company in 2019.
From then to now, he’s seen a major change in the business, causing hassles, in particular, at the pump.
He says in 2020 he could do a trip from Memphis to South Dakota, and it would cost around $1,200 for fuel. But now, that same route would cost around $2,400 for Washington.
He’s grown to have a team of drivers and 8 trucks.
The truck he drove on Thursday only needed 59 gallons to fill up, but it holds 140. The 59 gallons cost him $300.
He says the ” takes around about $850 to actually fill up.”
To help save at the pump, he recommends fuel card programs but says to make sure you explore all your options first.
Washington gets 16 cents off a gallon with the fuel card company he is currently using but says he’ll be switching companies soon because he “will be saving around 13 to 14 grand a month.”
He adds that his way of accommodating the increase in gas is to, as he puts it, “keep on trucking” but stay consistent.
He says he “hires a lot of part-time drivers. That means the trucks are consistently moving. Which means that it can kind of offset the cost” of gas because Road Legendz is steady making money.
He says that if you are unable to keep a steady workload, then now isn’t the best time to start a trucking company with how expensive fuel is.
