BOZEMAN - The average price for a gallon of diesel fuel in Montana is $5.49, compared to an average cost of $3.15 a year ago, according to AAA.
Town Pump spokesman Bill McGladdery notes the historic nature of the prices drivers are paying at the pump, reminiscent of those of 2008.
“Somewhere back then, we had high gas prices,” McGladdery said, “Not quite as high as it is today, and certainly diesel did not climb to the degree it has this year.”
Prices are not set by the pumps and companies themselves, but rather by the refineries, McGladdery said.
“It really comes down on us from up above,” McGladdery said.
The Montana Trucking Association has been monitoring the gas prices and sees it as another hurdle that Montana truckers have to face.
“They’re the backbone of our economy, they transport most all of our goods, and when the price to deliver the freight goes up, it really affects all of us,” Montana Trucking Association Executive Director Duane Williams said.
During the pandemic, Williams explained how the truckers continued their work delivering goods and services across the country. He went on to say that truckers were our ‘heroes’ during those two years.
This diesel price will put a pinch on trucking companies and the larger outfits, but especially the small trucking companies.
“A typical truck has about a 300-gallon tank,” Williams explained. “So if the price of fuel is $5.50, that’s $1,650 it costs to fuel that truck up.”
Seeing the drastic spike in price over these past few months, eyes remain on the illuminated signs outside of gas stations around the country.
