OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — The country is experiencing one of the biggest diesel shortages since 2008. That's with about 25 days of diesel supply in shortage according to the Energy Information Administration.
Why is there a shortage? There's seasonal maintenance happening with refineries and there's still a ban on imports from Russia due to the war in Ukraine.
For Hill Brothers Transportation driver Sara Stewart, the shortage is stressful. She travels a route spanning 5 states, starting in Nebraska and ending in California.
Right now, she's trying to conserve as much fuel as she can. But with the diesel shortage looming, she's unsure of what's next.
"When you're a leased purchase driver, you rely on running every week. You rely on the fuel. You rely on having that paycheck so you can make your truck payment, every week. But now if we're gonna have a fuel shortage, we're not gonna be making that paycheck and run our trucks," Stewart said.
The shortage not only causes stress for drivers but could also make everything on the shelf more expensive for customers.
Hill Brothers General Manager Robert Sauer says as his drivers pay more for fuel, shippers have to pay those surcharges and the shippers have to recover those costs which are making its way down to the consumer.
"Until I think we can get some relief from this, that's going to continue to put pressure on those prices. Which we're all trying to get those prices to come down and limit inflation," Stewart said.
Nick Hall works for Pro Fleet CDL Driving Academy, a truck driving school in Omaha. His biggest fear is that tuition at the school could increase by $500 to $1,000 if a diesel shortage persists.
"It's one of my highest operating costs is supplying diesel for my trucks because they use it every day, all day long. The more we use, the more it costs the school and the school has to recover the operating costs somewhere," Hall said.
Whenever Stewart prepares to go on her routes, there's always a fear lurking in the back of her mind.
"Every week that I'm out on that road, it scares me. I am afraid we're not gonna have fuel when we're running, say, for instance, we get out to California, well there's no fuel. We're stuck there. We don't know what we're gonna do," Stewart said.
The low inventory is why diesel prices are so high right now. AAA reports the average price of diesel is more than $5 a gallon.
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