CHEEKTOWAGA, N.Y. (WKBW) — Truckers and construction workers filling up at Jim's Truck Plaza in Cheektowaga say the rapid rise in diesel prices is hitting them hard — and warn consumers will feel it too.
Diesel now sits at $5.19 a gallon, a 28 percent jump over the last few weeks and the biggest increase since 2022, when prices peaked at $5.81 a gallon.
A construction worker told me $100 in diesel didn't even fill his tank.
"That used to get you a lot farther than it does now," Matt Darlak said.
He added that the speed of the increase has been jarring.
"Yeah, it's crazy the jump has been very extreme...very quickly," Darlak said. "I'm not a truck driver...I'm a construction worker...but it all flows the same...right?...The cost of diesel goes up....everything goes up...got to have trucks to go places.”
WATCH: 'It's crazy': Rapid rise in diesel prices is hitting truckers and construction workers hard
A local trucker transporting kitchen cabinets also stopped to fill up, saying his boss is already cracking down on fuel use.
"The fact they're spiking is a little scary...now my boss is yelling at me...turn the truck off...no wasting diesel," Makiah said.
The costs are adding up fast. One pump at the plaza climbed past $300 during a single fill-up.
"How much do you think it will end up costing you?" I asked.
"Right now, probably I've been averaging like $150 a day," said Makiah. "All that money is definitely adding up...and it's going for businesses to make a profit."
Another trucker — hauling building materials for a local transportation company — told me that until shipping lanes in the Middle East reopen and oil starts flowing more freely, consumers will continue to pay the price with higher diesel costs.
"Eventually, it will trickle down," Mike Perkins said. "The companies – they do have ways to offset the fuel costs a little bit. They pass it back to their customers through a fuel surcharge. But it's tough. Everyone's going to have to eat a little bit until we get the prices back down.”
Darlak warned that the broader economic impact could be severe.
"Things are going to get so expensive...where no one is going to be able to afford things," Darlak said.
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