Stores full of empty shelves, people fighting over basic needs, and chaos in the streets: this is what truck drivers promise if gas prices don’t change. The rising diesel prices are not sustainable for truckers to continue to run their business. Some drivers claim that if diesel prices don’t fall in the next few weeks or couple of months, trucking as we know it could shut down. This means a complete stop of shipping essential items and more price gouging of the remaining supplies in stores. It doesn’t look good, and with the extra demand during the summer months, we may not see any relief until the fall. The only question is, can trucking companies hold out that long?

Diesel prices are up 76% from last year. This means some drivers could spend up to $1,700 each day to fuel up their vehicle. Many drivers even claim that they’re taking some cargo loads for a loss. The trucking company just wants to keep their drivers in business. This model is obviously not sustainable, and soon trucking companies will shut down. The strongest companies can take some losses for a while, but mom and pop shops as well as new trucking companies could be out of luck.

Diesel Prices Could Put Truckers out of Business

In 2021, a record number of trucking companies opened for business. These are all new businesses who are still probably paying off their start-up costs. It’s not cheap to open a business. With rising diesel prices, they may not be able to pay their bills. We could see a record number of businesses close down or put their businesses on a hiatus.

There is an estimated shortage of 81,000 truckers, even with the increase in trucking companies. If these new trucking companies go out of business, we could see an even larger shortage of truckers. If trucking companies continue to take a loss in their business, the demand will surely outweigh the supply. This means that even if there isn’t a shortage, we’ll see an increase in prices on everything from produce to electronics. With rising inflation plaguing the USA already, there’s no telling how much the price of goods could rise.