Truck drivers in southern Illinois say record diesel prices are doing far more than making long-haul trips more expensive, warning that the cost of moving freight is beginning to squeeze businesses across the supply chain and could soon show up more clearly in grocery bills and other everyday expenses.
KFVS12 reporter Devin Kidd spoke with drivers and transportation workers in Marion, Illinois, as diesel prices climbed to levels that are forcing trucking companies, tow operators and independent drivers to rethink how they absorb costs.
For FedEx contract driver Amin Waddell, the price of one fill-up has become hard to ignore.
“$1,240, one time,” Waddell said, describing what it now takes to fill his semi-truck.
A Partial Fill-Up Cost Nearly $500
Kidd met Waddell at a Pilot truck stop in Marion during one of his regular stops, where the driver explained that he had not even been starting from empty.
“I just filled up and I was just under half, and that was $470,” Waddell said. “For about 65, 70 gallons of diesel.”
Waddell drives across the country every week, hauling packages under contract for FedEx, so fuel is not an occasional expense that can simply be avoided until prices come back down.
For commercial drivers, diesel is part of the basic cost of doing business, which means a sharp increase has to be absorbed somewhere.
That pressure is especially heavy for owner-operators, who are responsible for paying their own fuel bills rather than having those costs covered directly by a larger company.
According to the report, AAA had placed the national average price of diesel at $6.23 per gallon, while diesel in Marion was even higher at $6.59.
At those prices, a single trip can create hundreds of dollars in additional operating costs before maintenance, insurance, wages and other expenses are even considered.
Waddell Says Consumers Will Feel It Too
Waddell warned that the financial pressure does not stop with trucking companies.
“You got to consider everything,” he told Kidd. “Everyone’s affected by this. From the growers, the producers, the shippers, the receivers, supermarkets, the whole nine.”
His point is straightforward: nearly everything sold in a store has to be transported at some stage, and the cost of that transportation is built into the final price.
When fuel becomes dramatically more expensive, companies can only absorb so much before passing at least part of that increase along.
That does not mean every product will suddenly jump in price overnight, but the logic behind Waddell’s warning is difficult to dismiss.
Food, household goods, building materials and countless other products rely on trucks to reach warehouses and stores, so diesel costs ripple through a much larger part of the economy than most drivers see at the pump.
Towing Companies Are Watching Costs Closely
Just next door, Kidd also spoke with Shawn Hughes, operations manager at Vernell’s Interstate Service, where diesel is a major expense for the towing side of the business.
“The majority of our vehicles run on diesel in our towing division,” Hughes said.
He explained that the company tries to ride out price spikes without immediately adding large surcharges to customers, but that gets harder the longer high prices last.
“We try to get through the spikes without having to have a whole lot of upcharge and different things on our services,” Hughes said.
That balancing act is common in service industries because businesses know customers are already feeling pressure from higher prices elsewhere.
At the same time, those businesses cannot indefinitely operate as though their own expenses have not changed.
Hughes said the company still has to respond to customers and keep trucks on the road regardless of what diesel costs.
“We’re not going to stop. We’re not going to slow down,” he said. “Everybody is a priority in our business, and we are going to continue to go and help them regardless of what the fuel prices are.”
Trucking Is Already Changing Because of Fuel Costs
Waddell said the spike is also changing how some drivers think about the industry itself.
Independent ownership once offered drivers more control and the possibility of higher earnings, but the tradeoff was always that they had to cover their own operating expenses.
When fuel alone starts costing more than $1,000 every few days, that tradeoff becomes much harder to justify.
Waddell said some owner-operators are deciding to give up their trucks and drive for established companies instead.
“You know, give up your vehicle and decide, hey, I’m gonna drive for someone else, and not pay 11, 1200 bucks every other day,” he said.
That is a major shift because fuel costs are not just shrinking margins; they may be changing who is willing to stay in business independently.
For some drivers, working for a larger company means giving up some freedom but also avoiding the constant fear that one bad month of fuel prices could erase their profits.
Hughes Warns Grocery Prices Could Be Next
Hughes echoed Waddell’s warning that consumers may eventually see the effect in stores.
“I feel in the future, you know, in the grocery stores, everything, whatever it takes to get it there is gonna cost everybody more,” he said.
That is probably the clearest way to understand why this matters beyond trucking.
Most people do not see the fuel bill behind a loaf of bread, a refrigerator or a package delivered to their front door, but transportation costs are built into nearly every step of the process.
When the cost of moving products rises sharply, those expenses can stack up across farmers, distributors, freight companies, warehouses and retailers.
By the time an item reaches the shelf, several businesses may already have paid more to move it.
Drivers Can Still Control Some of Their Fuel Use
Hughes said drivers cannot control the market price of diesel, but they can avoid wasting fuel through poor maintenance.
His advice was simple.
“Do your checks,” Hughes said. “Make sure your tire pressures are good. Don’t stare at a check engine light.”
Those may sound like basic reminders, but he said neglected maintenance can have a real impact on fuel economy.
Low tire pressure, unresolved engine problems and other mechanical issues force vehicles to use more fuel, which becomes much more expensive when diesel prices are already near record levels.
That advice is especially important for commercial operators, where even a small loss in efficiency becomes meaningful across thousands of miles.
A Fuel Problem That Reaches Far Beyond the Truck Stop
Kidd’s report shows why diesel prices matter even to people who never drive a semi-truck.
Waddell sees the cost directly every time he pulls into a station and watches the total climb past $1,000, while Hughes sees it in the expenses required to keep tow trucks running.
Both men believe the wider public will eventually feel the same pressure through higher prices for goods and services.
There is still no easy answer for companies trying to absorb the increase without losing customers or cutting into already thin margins.
For now, drivers are doing what they can: maintaining their vehicles, watching expenses more closely and deciding whether independent trucking still makes financial sense.
But when a routine fill-up can cost $1,240, the warning from the people moving goods across the country is clear enough.
The pain at the pump may begin with the truck driver, but it rarely ends there.
A former park ranger and wildlife conservationist, Lisa’s passion for survival started with her deep connection to nature. Raised on a small farm in northern Wisconsin, she learned how to grow her own food, raise livestock, and live off the land. Lisa is our dedicated Second Amendment news writer and also focuses on homesteading, natural remedies, and survival strategies. Lisa aims to help others live more sustainably and prepare for the unexpected.
