ROCKBRIDGE COUNTY, Va. (WDBJ) – “You have to do what you have to do to survive, in the best way possible,” said Daryl Dozar, a truck driver of 15 years.

Survivor. That’s what some truckers continue to do every day.

“I saw the fuel prices when I started, a dollar something per gallon and we were even screaming back then. Now 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 dollars a gallon is ridiculous, it’s out of control, it’s going to wipe out the trucking industry,” said Bart Costi, a truck driver for decades.

From now on, the threat of a possible shortage of diesel could become an additional pressure for the drivers. Both Pilot Flying-J and Love’s said there were diesel supply issues and companies were monitoring the situation. Several trade publications indicate that diesel supplies on the east coast are now at their lowest in almost 20 years.

“It makes us nervous,” Costi said.

“It’s a bit difficult right now, it really puts a hole in everyone’s pockets,” Dozar said.

Dozar is an owner-operator, part of the industry that has been hit even harder by these challenges.

“A company has a variety of trucks, so it has a larger budget. An owner-operator, everything, insurance, fuel, everything you do with your truck, you have to pay out of pocket, so it’s really hard for an owner-operator, it really is,” Dozar said.

Truckers believe that prices and a possible fuel shortage will not only impact them, but the general public as well.

“That’s what saddens me, that’s what hurts my heart, is that we work here every day to survive, to earn a living for you, for your families, but how are we going to do that with what’s going on,” Costi said.

A sense of hope is still on the truckers’ minds as they seek relief as soon as possible.

Copyright 2022 WDBJ. All rights reserved.