The average price of fuel from the green nozzle in Reno reached an all-time high on Sunday of $7.04, according to AAA. It’s ticked down to $7.01 as of Monday afternoon.
That figure puts the average diesel price nearly a dollar and a half above the regular unleaded average, which sits at $5.61.
The Nevada statewide diesel average is $6.82, and nationwide it’s a record-setting $6.51 on Monday afternoon.
Diesel prices may have fallen from the record, but the impact on the trucking industry is still at its peak.
“Where it used to cost $2,800 to come out here, now it's closer to $4,000,” says Ivan Ivone, a longtime truck driver.
Berdell Frank owns and operates his own semi-truck. He says high prices mean little to no profit.
“There are times when you operate in the business at, we call it NOL, net operating loss,” Frank says, “because you'll get enough fuel to do the job, but you don't actually make any money to take home."
Truckers say the high fuel prices are steering them away from some loads and keeping them away from home.
“I’m not going to my hometown, probably till November, because I got to make sure my money's good if I want to take, you know, enough time off,” says Frank. “Let's say I want to take a week off, and then I miss a week for my paycheck. Because of the prices, then you got to kind of be stuck in that area."
“I've had to turn down some [jobs] because the rates are not there,” Ivone says. “But I haul basically the same thing all the time, specialized. And even though the rate is good, it’s still cutting into me."
As for the trucking companies, carriers will often pass costs down the chain through fuel surcharges. The Nevada Trucking Association says those range from 50 to 90%
“Let's say you're going to charge $1,000 to move a truck full of groceries from point A to point B,” says Paul Enos, CEO of the Nevada Trucking Association. “When you add on that fuel surcharge at 90%, you're now going to be looking at $1,900."
And those increases continue down the chain until they reach your wallet.
“At the grocery store, at the restaurant. anytime we're buying a product on the internet,” Enos says, “we're going to see that increased cost, because transportation has now increased as well."
As we’ve reported, a number of factors are driving up Nevada fuel prices, from the war in Iran to a refinery closing in California.
