*American truckers are issuing a dire warning as diesel prices surge to historic highs. The three drivers who spoke to Fox News Digital, Suave Dorsett of Miami, Tyler Rinaldi of Louisiana, and Avante Jackson of Charlotte, run different operations and haul different freight. But all are getting crushed by the same number.
The national average for diesel stood at roughly $6.32 per gallon Monday, according to AAA, up from about $3.69 a year ago, a jump of more than 70%.
It has eclipsed the previous record of $5.816 per gallon set in June 2022 under former President Joe Biden.
Two of the three drivers are Black.
That matters, because Black owner-operators have historically operated with thinner margins and less access to capital, meaning a fuel spike like this one hits them first and hardest.
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‘It’s Hurting Our Pockets Real Bad’
Miami-based trucker Suave Dorsett, who has been driving for nine years, said the math no longer works.
“Fuel prices is going up. The rates are not going up,” Dorsett told FND. “So, it’s hurting our pockets real bad.”
Dorsett said he has seen diesel as high as $7.40 per gallon while traveling through Ohio.
He listed other costs truckers carry: DEF, parking, showers, weighing loads, repairs, and towing.
If prices stay elevated, Dorsett predicted smaller operators will be the first to go.
“Some of the smaller companies, like the smaller owner-ops, would slowly fall off, and it’s going to create a chain effect,” he said, predicting a “domino effect” that could eventually put pressure on larger carriers.
Routes Cut, Money Dries Up
Tyler Rinaldi, a white Louisiana trucker with a decade hauling hazardous materials for an LTL company, said the cuts have already begun.
“I’ve seen a lot of routes get cut,” Rinaldi explained to Fox News Digital. “They’re not really running like they want to on the weekends right now.”
Rinaldi, who is married with two children, said fewer routes means less money coming home.
“When they start cutting routes and trying to limit the expenses on what routes they send out,” he said, “that takes away from the people that work in the company’s pockets.”
‘What Do I Have Left to Keep the Doors Open?’
Avante Jackson, an 11-year veteran from Charlotte who hauls steel and construction materials, framed the crisis as an existential one.
“If I’m putting all of my profit in the tank,” Jackson said, “at the end of the day, what do I have left to keep the doors open?”
Jackson cautioned against “fear-mongering” about potential shortages but said a widespread loss of drivers could ultimately reach consumers.
“It really could hit the community,” he added.
The latest spike mirrors the 2022 crunch, when diesel hit a then-record $5.82 per gallon. According to the American Transportation Research Institute, trucking fuel costs surged 53.7% in 2022, helping drive a 21.3% jump in overall operating costs to a then-record $2.25 per mile.
A Message for the President
As the Trump administration pushes international partners to release emergency fuel reserves, the truckers have a message: Don’t forget the drivers absorbing the costs on the road.
“My message to President Trump would just be to think about who’s keeping America moving,” Jackson told Fox News Digital. “Think about the little guys out here each and every day.”
“We truly are the backbone of America,” he added. “We just want you to think about us and put yourself in our shoes. Let’s try to get the fuel prices down. We know we can do better.”
Trump described higher fuel prices Thursday as a temporary sacrifice in the fight to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, saying on Truth Social that rising gasoline costs were “a small price to pay for Iran not having a Nuclear Weapon.” White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers said Trump signed an executive order to cut diesel costs and negotiated a deal with European counterparts to release 100 million barrels, mainly diesel, from stockpiles.
For Dorsett and Jackson, the two Black drivers in this story, the wait for relief is measured in every mile driven and every gallon purchased. And when the small operators fall off first, as Dorsett predicts, the drivers left standing will be the ones with the deepest pockets, not the ones who kept America moving.
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