BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) \u2014 This story ran on Sept. 11. <\/p>\n
Diesel prices in California have reached record-breaking numbers, putting major pressure on truck drivers, especially owner-operators.<\/p>\n
23ABC spoke with local drivers about the growing financial strain and how difficult it\u2019s getting to keep their businesses afloat.<\/p>\n
For Martin Lemus, it\u2019s getting more and more challenging to provide for his family.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have to provide for the house\u2026 because in reality, everything that\u2019s coming out is so expensive and the only option we have is our work,\u201d Lemus said.<\/p>\n
Diesel prices at this Chevron station were $7.79 per gallon… and in other parts of the state, they are as high as $9.99 per gallon.<\/p>\n
Terence Cason has been running his business for over 30 years, and he says these numbers are astounding.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve never seen diesel prices this expensive\u2026 never\u2026 and it doesn\u2019t seem like they\u2019re going down,\u201d Cason said.<\/p>\n
Owner-operator, taking the bulk of the strain, because they are responsible for their own operation costs.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey don’t want to pay us more than 750 or 800 per load and one load is the money for diesel and the other is to take home, but from there we have to deduct the insurance payment, tires, maintenance and our own take-home salary,\u201d Lemus said.<\/p>\n
So why is diesel so expensive right now? Experts say global conflicts, including the U.S. war in Iran, are disrupting oil supplies worldwide.<\/p>\n
They also say diesel prices are rising because fewer refineries in places like the Middle East and Russia are able to process oil into fuel.<\/p>\n
In Russia, Ukrainian drone strikes have damaged energy facilities, putting even more pressure on diesel prices.<\/p>\n
And there are many other drivers like Martin \u2013 Mikael Guadalupe is also working to provide for his family.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have to keep putting in effort to be able to bring something home,\u201d Guadalupe said. \u201cWe\u2019re useless sitting at home, and we could choose not to work, but our mouths need to get fed and the rent doesn\u2019t wait, our bills don\u2019t wait.\u201d<\/p>\n
For now, there\u2019s no clear sign of when diesel prices will come down. And for many truck drivers, the only option is to keep pushing forward and wait it out.<\/p>\n
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