Gabriel Hernández, owner and operator of a trailer truck that transports cargo every day from Ukiah, in northern California to Los Angeles and San Diego, is thundering because of the high price of diesel.
Like him, most cargo carriers feel frustrated because no authority is doing anything to stop the uncontrolled escalation of fuel price increases.
“ The gallon is between $6,20 and $6.35. They are screwing us with those prices. We are working to pay for diesel and gasoline”, says Gabriel who spends almost $ every day of gasoline, and sometimes more.
Truck drivers are about to throw in the towel and go on strike to protest excessive prices.
“ We plan to make a work stoppage for April 1, but who knows if by then diesel will not have risen to $9”, he says Gabriel, who has been dedicated to cargo transportation for 12 years.
“I usually transport construction materials and lumber for Home Depot”.
The American Automobile Association (AAA) reported that the average cost of diesel in California for March 9 was $5.900 per gallon vs. $5.573 of gasoline ; while the average price in Los Angeles is $5.573 for gasoline.
The conflict between Russia and Ukraine has sent gasoline and diesel prices skyrocketing to record highs, AAA says.
But even before the invasion, rates were on the rise.
“We paid between $4,70 and $4,85, but in a month it has risen almost $3, and it can rise in a few hours. I filled the tank in the morning at $6.25; and by the afternoon, it was $6.39 . It’s a total lack of control!”
He said that those exorbitant prices are killing them.
“It’s ridiculous. This is worse than the pandemic. They are going to force us to make a big strike. The way things are, it’s better for us to stop the truck and look for a job.”
Gabriel urged the authorities to Do something to lower the prices.
“With Trump, the price did not exceed $3,30, $3,51. It never went above $4. As soon as Biden entered, prices began to go up, and right now with the war myth they have skyrocketed like never before”.
It is clear, he pointed out, that President Biden is not not working or doing anything to stop the increases.
“The other point is that the companies do not want to pay us more for the loads. Before the increase, I had about $3 left,, $4, per week. Now I have $1 left,000, $1,391. They’re going to bankrupt us.”
Ricardo Gómez, owner and driver of his own cargo truck, He said diesel prices are hurting them.
“I go from Northern California to Los Angeles at least twice a week, but with these increases we can no longer. There are no profits”.
He said that filling the tank costs him $1,200, allowing you to loop around 900 miles, a round trip from north to south.
“I just put half a tank. I paid $650. For a trip I have $51. Should not. It is better to close for a while, because in addition to the brokers, those who they hire us, they pay us every 3 weeks or every month. So we have to have a certain economic solvency to operate”.
But he stressed that they may have unexpected expenses along the way, such as a flat tire that can cost between $600 and $640.
“The strike we plan to make is so that the authorities listen to us in the face of diesel and gasoline prices that are out of control. We ask the president, the governor and the officials to put themselves in our shoes”.
And he explained that from their meager earnings they have to pay all the expenses of their cargo truck.
“The monthly payment, the insurance that is very expensive, the maintenance, the unexpected expenses, our mortgage and the expenses of the family.
“The situation is frustrating for low-income people. Who gives them the right to raise the price of diesel and gasoline so much?”, he questioned.
Jonathan Hernández, also a cargo truck driver, confessed to feeling scared in the face of the unstoppable escalation of diesel and gasoline prices.
“I make short local trips of 2, 3 hours, but with the increase in diesel my income has been reduced to $150 per day. Imagine!… from there I have to pay the monthly rent for the truck, maintenance, insurance and family and house expenses”.
Carlos Mendoza, freight forwarder for 11 years, said that already many companies are temporarily stopping their operations due to the high cost of diesel.
“It is affecting families too much, and we cannot do anything to prevent prices from continuing to rise.”
He made it clear that as a consequence everything is going to be make it very difficult financially.
“The increase in diesel is going to affect the prices of food and everything. We have no choice but to continue working and tighten our belts, let’s see until when”.
California Governor Gavin Newsom announced that he will present a proposal to reduce the price crisis of the gas. (Getty Images)Delivering his annual state of the state address, Governor Gavin Newsom said he is going to present a proposal to put money back in the pockets of Californians and address the gas price crisis.
“But what we cannot do is repeat the mistakes of the past and embrace the polluters. Drilling more oil leads to even more extreme weather, more extreme drought and more wildfires.”
However , the Governor did not give further details of his plan to bring down fuel prices.
At the end of February, Governor Newsom proposed suspending his budget for $286,000 million for the fiscal cycle 2022-22, the 5.6% gas tax that will take effect in July, in order to save you money to drivers.
The governor also proposed delaying the entry into force of the increases to this tax scheduled for 2023 and 2024.
“Because California is so strong and we are the fastest growing economy of all Western democracies for the last five years or more, because we’ve done a little better than many, in terms of dealing with the pandemic, as a result, our economic output is strong,” Newsom said in introducing his plan.
“As a result, our budgets are running extraordinary surpluses.”
Californians currently pay more for gas than any other driver in the country.
On average, the state gas tax last summer was 51.1 cents. If we add the federal tax and other charges, a sum of is made cents.
The increase in taxes on gasoline and diesel fuel were authorized within the transportation plan of Bill 1 of the Senate of 2017. The increases were intended to raise about $5.4 billion a year for highways, bridges, transit and local roads.
Santee Republican Senator Brian W. Jones asked the Californians flood with calls to their state legislator to suspend the gas tax for one year.
“The California legislature California has the power to immediately lower the price by suspending the $1 gas tax for a few months, a year or permanently.”
He considered that this will not solve all the financial precautions but it is a huge drop.
Jones maintained that fuel prices have reached absurd rates.
“So absurd that I saw a sign of a place where it was sold for more than $7 a gallon”.
Unfortunately, he said that Democratic leaders do not agree to suspend the tax because they say it will inhibit economic growth.
But he stressed that whether you are a Democrat, Republican, independent or whatever, “gas prices are not a partisan issue.”
According to AAA , the increase in gas demand and a reduction in total supply have contributed to the increase in fuel prices.
However, they said that the increase in oil prices plays a role important in the rise in gasoline prices. So they warned that consumers can expect the current trend of increases to continue as long as crude oil prices continue to rise. or rise.
President Biden acknowledged that his ban on buying energy from Russia, which is supported by most Americans, will mean higher gasoline prices in the United States.
“I can’t do more for now. Russia is responsible,” he told reporters.