Rising fuel prices are forcing Metro Detroit drivers and businesses to make tough decisions as gas prices surge overnight and Michigan diesel hits a record high.
According to AAA Michigan, the average price for regular unleaded is now $4.75 a gallon — up from $4.54 on Wednesday and $4.30 just last week. Diesel fuel in Michigan has surged to a record $6.54 a gallon.
Drivers say the increases are hitting their wallets hard.
"I mean, we're having to sacrifice whether I can put $10 in here, or do I go get something to eat," Elizabeth Lewis, a DoorDash driver, said.
"I mean, it's almost like you just have to kind of disassociate it from it, you know? I mean, people have places to go— you don't really have a choice," Ashley Kennett said.
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Chandler McClung says it now costs him more than $150 to fill up his Ford F-150. He had a message for President Trump, lawmakers in Washington, and candidates on the campaign trail.
"If y'all really for the people and y'all want to help the people, these gas prices got to come down because the everyday person that's working 9-to-5 jobs, making minimum wage — it's hard on us," McClung said.
Businesses are feeling the pressure too. Jason Lett manages Zoom 2Day Deliveries, a courier service, and says overnight price spikes eat directly into the company's bottom line.
"It definitely hurts because we're in business — we're in business to make a profit. So when you're pulling out as much as in gas to do delivery, you don't wanna outprice everybody for the prices," Lett said. "So it's just one of them things where, you know ... it's a discussion. But right now, it's like, do we raise it (prices) ... or do we hope for things just to, you know, eventually just come down just a little bit —just to give us a little bit of a break."
Oakland University Professor Dr. Michael Greiner says prices are climbing due to a combination of global factors, including oil supply disruptions tied to the war with Iran, Houthi shipping blockades in the Red Sea, and Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries.
"The refining capacity has been reduced as a result of the Ukrainian attacks on the Russian refineries, and actually you saw where the president stepped up and said that, you know —he's asking the Ukrainians to stop attacking the Russian refineries because of the fact that actually is creating upward pressure, especially on the price of diesel," Greiner said.
Greiner said the record diesel price carries consequences that extend well beyond the pump.
"If goods are being taken to market from farms or are being taken from one manufacturing facility to another, all of that transportation is being done with diesel fuel, and that drives up the price of that, which then of course gets passed on to the consumer," Greiner said.
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