MACON, Ga. — Summer is right around the corner which means so are higher gas prices.
As we've seen regular gas shoot up, diesel prices are at a high and people paying for the fuel say it’s affecting business.
"I've never seen an increase this quickly, I've never seen it be such a large part of our expenses as it is right now," transportation business owner Audrey Tidwell explained.
After owning C&A transportation for years, Tidwell knows her way around the trucking industry's expenses. Now that diesel prices have nearly doubled from last year, its causing a strain.
"When you have that kind of an increase, so quickly and you’re paying your fuel, your drivers, your expenses up front, it’s really hard to try and absorb as fast as the fuel is going up", the business owner explained.
Tidwell says they have more than 20 trucks on the road at once. When you multiply that number times the cost of diesel for a more than 200-gallon tank, it adds up.
"We go through approximately $7,000, $8,000 worth of fuel a day," she said.
Statewide, the average cost of diesel is $5.29 a gallon. In some places like California it sits just under $7.00. One of the biggest kinks in America's supply chain is a shortage of truck drivers, but rising fuel costs could be the latest hurdle to douse businesses.
"With the expenses the way they are now and the way they're increasing so quickly it’s hard to not have a rate increase, " she said. "Of course, when you have a rate increase for your customers, they, in turn have to increase their products so it all trickles down to the consumer."
According to data from AAA, a year ago diesel was only $3.05 a gallon.
Gas prices are slated to increase throughout the summer.
Last week Governor Brian Kemp extended the temporary gas tax suspension for the state.