Energy Secretary Chris Wright warned that gasoline pushed up by the conflict may not fall below $3 per gallon until next year. At the pump now, regular gas averages about $4.05 per gallon while diesel has jumped to roughly $5.61 a gallon.
Reporting from Davenport, Iowa, CBS correspondent Lana Zak found farmers and truck drivers making painful adjustments as diesel costs surge. Owner-operator Lori Martin, who hauls rock for construction, says her diesel bill has risen roughly 50% since the war began. Where a fill used to cost about $100, she now pays around $150 a day.
Farmer Joe Dierickx described the scale of the hit: in December he paid $18,000 to fill a 10,000-gallon fuel tank; at current prices that same fill would cost about $40,000. He and other growers who manage thousands of acres rely on diesel for planting, harvesting and hauling, and rising fuel costs are squeezing already thin margins.
Energy analysts link the price spike to disruptions of oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz. They say the longer the disruption continues, the longer elevated fuel costs will persist, forcing farmers and transporters to absorb higher input prices.
Those interviewed said the uncertainty is forcing tighter budgeting and tough choices about equipment use and other expenses. Many warned that sustained losses could threaten farm viability and ripple through food supply chains. Experts add that even if hostilities end quickly, the ripple effects on fuel and transportation prices are likely to be felt into next year’s growing season.