Kansas City Truckers Suffer Amid Ongoing World War Diesel

The implications of the diesel shortage are much worse than we want to think about today because they extend far beyond the convenience store and start to impact the food supply. 

And so . . . With no solution in sight beyond even more crusades in the far away desert . . .

This report offers a ground level view of how local indie truckers are coping with crisis in the making . . . 

"A gallon of diesel averaged $6.53 the week of Sept. 28 in the Midwest, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. That price is nearly double from the first week of January 2026, when a gallon of diesel averaged $3.39.

"That price shock most immediately hits anyone paying for diesel fuel. In Kansas City, that affects a lot of people and one of the area’s core industries.

"Nearly one out of every 10 workers in the Kansas City area works in transportation and material moving jobs, according to the most recent employment and wage report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

"That includes the area’s 26,250 light- and heavy-truck drivers, a profession that often is viewed as one of the better-paying jobs in the region. The average salary is $61,850 for heavy-truck drivers, and it doesn’t require a degree. That is on top of the nearly 4,000 single-employee trucking businesses in the area. 

"The record prices at the pump have risen so sharply that a viral online video promised a nationwide trucker strike starting Oct. 1, though no union or trade group backed the idea and it doesn’t seem to have happened."

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . .

Diesel price spike hits Kansas City trucking jobs, consumers - Beacon: Kansas City