Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Sunday that gas prices pumped up by the war may not drop below $3 per gallon until next year. Right now, a gallon of regular gas is $4.05. Diesel prices have surged, now averaging $5.61 a gallon. CBS’s Lana Zak is in Davenport, Iowa with more on the fallout over those fuel prices.
Lana Zak: Good evening, Jericka. Farmers and truck drivers here in Iowa and across the country are making tough decisions as this war drags on. And they tell me that the high price of diesel is pushing them to their limit.
Lori Martin is hauling rocks for a construction project in Barlow, Iowa. She owns her own truck. Her business runs on diesel, now up about 50% since the war began.
Lori Martin: It’s a big thing for the bottom line, obviously.
Lana Zak: She now spends $150 a day to fill up.
What was it before the war?
Lori Martin: Closer to $100.
Lana Zak: Joe Dierickx spent $18,000 in December filling his 10,000-gallon fuel barrel with diesel. At today’s price, he says that would cost him $40,000. He’s one of the millions of farmers in the US who rely on diesel to power their equipment.
How does it feel when you’re filling that up and realizing how much it costs?
Farmer: Well, we don’t want to waste any. I’ll tell you that.
Lana Zak: Especially farming around 5,000 acres. Dierickx gave us a tour of his corn and soybean farm.
Farmer: You can’t lose money year after year after year and keep the business going. And that’s the scary part right now.
Lana Zak: Energy experts forecast fuel will remain high as long as the flow of oil shipped through the Strait of Hormuz is disrupted.
Expert: The longer these high prices last, the more difficult it is, and farmers are going to have to absorb that full price.
Lana Zak: This uncertainty adding fuel to the fire that already has these Americans under pressure.
Farmer: So I have to be a little more cautious about where all my money goes.
Farmer: Well, if farmers break, why, then there’s less food for everybody in the world.
Experts warn, even if this war ends immediately, that the high prices are likely going to affect farmers into next year’s growing season and keep those transportation prices elevated for weeks to come.
Jericka: Got to have lots of patience. Lana Zak, thank you.