High Gas Prices Fueling Trucking Crisis
Nevada residents rely on the trucking industry to import the goods they purchase daily. High gas costs and commercial truck driver shortages threaten to raise the prices of goods even higher than the current all-time high rates Nevadans are experiencing.
Nevada’s inflation rate has hit an all-time high. Gas prices in October reached $5.38 per gallon on average, which is $1.46 above the national average. According to the Reno Gazette, investors in the natural gas and oil industry are apparently hesitant to invest in oil due to increased pressure from activists.
Back in March, Fox5 News reported that Power Express, a locally-owned trucking business, stated that the price to fill a 150-gallon semi-truck gas tank cost approximately $850 at the time, compared to the $300 that they paid pre-COVID.
Higher Priced Goods
According to the US Congress Joint Economic Committee, Nevada experienced a 14.9% inflation in the prices of goods, like groceries, in June 2022. By November, that number increased to 16.5%.
Per a report by Lensa of the least affordable states, Nevada ranks as the 11th most unaffordable place to live in America. Considering the increased cost of living in Nevada annually from 2021 to 2022, it amounted to $8,231 in one year.
Nevadans also ranked fifth on the list of state populations paying the highest amounts for groceries in the 50 states, with 12.7% of Nevada’s population receiving SNAP benefits on a monthly basis.
Essentially, in Nevada, people are spending more money on food and goods than they’re earning.
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How the Trucking Crisis Impacting Nevada
A report from KTNV revealed a serious problem in Nevada regarding the inflation of prices relating to the trucking industry. When asked about recent challenges, Peter Sigala, a 30-year veteran of the trucking industry, said, “there’s not enough truck drivers.”
Truck drivers and company owners were forced to pay the rise in gas prices and experienced a lack of employment which both carried over from the pandemic. The Nevada Trucking Agency claims that there is a shortage of approximately 2,000 trucking workers needed to make shipments run smoothly in the state. With over 95% of the goods purchased in Nevada being delivered by truck drivers, these numbers are disheartening.
Hope on the Horizon
Phillip Scherer, the owner of the Las Vegas-based trucking company Phillip’s Roadway Services, refuses to back down. Scherer expanded his trucking business during the negative forecast of the trucking shipment economy in the state of Nevada.
Starting with one truck in 2018, Scherer has managed to acquire 14 more trucks and has no plans to stop. Excited to continue growing in 2022-2023, he’s actively searching for new drivers and staff to support his business’s growth. Scherer lives by the motto “just rest, don’t quit,” and he won’t do either when it comes to his dreams of creating a trucking empire.
It’s difficult to estimate when Nevada gas prices will go down, when the inflation will stop increasing, or when the trucking industry will return to its more stable pre-pandemic state. That said, on December 12th, Fox5 reported that the average Las Vgeas gas price fell to 23 cents per gallon the previous week. Whether the trend continues, only time will tell.
All in all, the prices of gas and goods are playing a big role in creating even higher prices for Nevadans throughout the state. Hopefully, Nevada can provide its trucking industry workers and companies with enough support to get them through this tough economic time and promote a return to stability.
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