PHOENIX (AZFamily) — Diesel prices in Phoenix have reached the highest number in history at just over $6 a gallon, according to AAA, raising concerns among economists and business owners about widespread consumer impacts.
While most drivers don’t fill their cars with diesel, the fuel powers the trucks that transport goods to store shelves across the valley.
Food truck owners feel the squeeze
Adam Dreyer and his business partner Nick launched their Gelu Italian Ice food truck about three months ago. The pair have been traveling across the valley for different events, but diesel prices are affecting their bottom line.
“I remember it being a high enough number, triple digits, that we’re like, oh, it’s the temperature in July,” Dreyer said.
The last time diesel gas prices came close to current levels was in 2022. Hitendra Chaturvedi, an ASU professor of supply chain management, said he can’t remember a rise as high and fast as the current spike.
“People who think that, oh, my God, I don’t have to pay that diesel high price are like an ostrich with a head in the sand,” Chaturvedi said.
Diesel powers supply chains
Diesel fuel is denser, oilier and less volatile than the regular gas most drivers use.
“All the trucks that bring the stuff to our markets, to our shelves is driven by diesel,” Chaturvedi said.
Many of the machines that grow and harvest food also run on diesel.
“The problem is, many of the products that we are getting are from the countries that get impacted by the oil from the Strait of Hormuz,” Chaturvedi said.
Dreyer said equipment and produce costs are climbing in addition to fuel prices. While the food truck has been able to absorb those extra costs so far, he doesn’t know how long that will last.
“We’ll see what happens to gas prices this summer. You know, people might be paying another 50, 75 cents a dollar more for the thing that they were paying,” Dreyer said.
What happens to diesel prices depends on what happens in the Middle East, with concern about where prices could go if the war in Iran gets prolonged.
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