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DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) – The national price of diesel fuel spiked to $6.23 a gallon Monday morning. It was worse in Decatur, where a gallon of diesel hit $6.48 at a truck stop next to Interstate 72.
“It’s really, really tough, especially for the small trucking company owners who it’s the hardest on,” Matt Hart of the Illinois Trucking Association told WAND News. “We’ve been in a trucking recession for about four years. We’re finally coming out of that, and the last thing we need in this industry is high fuel prices.”
Hart says truckers move about 95% of manufactured goods in the state.
Eventually, consumers will see higher grocery costs if diesel fuel prices continue rising.
The sharp increase in diesel fuel comes just as Illinois farmers are hitting fields to harvest corn and soybean crops.