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While the cost of regular unleaded has yet to reach the historical marker of $4.89, meters on Wednesday read around $4.10. That’s nearly three dimes higher than last week and pushing a $1.50 more than this time last year.<\/p>\n
“It was over a thousand dollars,” said a chemical hauler. “It\u2019s a lot. It\u2019s a lot to spend on one fill-up.”<\/p>\n
Freddie Espinoza says he’s now spending around $600 a month to fill up his personal diesel truck.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The pain at the pump only hits harder in the Permian Basin, where the oil and gas business survives on large trucks hauling millions of products weekly. The chemical hauler says rising fuel prices then get passed onto the consumer because companies get a surcharge.<\/p>\n
With frequent fill-ups adding up to never-before-seen heights, Michael Lozano of the Permian Basin Petroleum Association says the industry is facing real challenges keeping up with the global market.<\/p>\n
“There\u2019s kinda this myth of how high prices are good for the industry,” said Lozano. “They\u2019re not. High prices are not good for anybody. What we want is a reasonable, sustainable prices that allows operators to still have a profit but continue invest in the region that also doesn\u2019t create price shocks for consumers.”<\/p>\n