Gas and diesel prices continue climbing across Washington, creating new challenges for local trucking companies.
According to AAA, the average price for a gallon of regular gasoline in Washington is now $5.76 — nearly 10 cents higher than a week ago. Diesel prices, while slightly lower than last week, are still hovering near $7 per gallon in the Seattle/Bellevue/Everett area.
Richard Davis, owner of DRD Trucking and Warehousing Services in the Seattle area, says fuel expenses are now cutting deeply into his company’s bottom line.
“The fuel is our money,” Davis said. “Without the fuel, we don’t move.”
DRD Trucking operates drayage deliveries from the Seattle and Tacoma terminals throughout Western Washington. But as diesel prices continue rising, Davis says the financial strain has intensified.
“Most of these loaded semis only get five or six miles to the gallon,” Davis explained. “When you’re paying $5 per gallon, it’s kind of a break-even, a little bit. Now we’re at seven.”
He says the math no longer works in favor of trucking companies.
“We’re paying more per gallon than we are getting per mile,” Davis said. “That’s where the problem comes in.”
This problem means filling up a single semi-truck with a 100-gallon tank can cost hundreds of dollars in one trip to the pump.
Davis says the soaring fuel costs have already forced him to make difficult decisions.
“It’s cutting into my profit by about 40%,” he said. “I had to lay off a few drivers, and with office personnel, cut back on hours.”
To reduce expenses, the company has adjusted its fueling strategy, only filling trucks with enough fuel to get through Monday through Wednesday.
The latest fuel spike comes as many trucking businesses were still trying to recover from earlier economic pressures, including tariff-related costs and supply chain disruptions. Davis says there’s also only so many adjustments he can make.
“It’s more of what they call a broker’s market right now. So it’s really not a lot that we can do would, but just kind of hold out and hope things get better,” he said.
Davis is also hoping state leaders will step in with some form of relief.
“What I would like to see is the governor of the state of Washington take a look at this thing and realize what it’s doing,” Davis said. “Give us something. Some kind of relief, just a little bit.”