LUTZ, Fla. — Gas prices are on track to break a Labor Day record this weekend, and diesel has hit an all-time high — a combination that could mean higher costs for consumers well beyond the pump.
AAA reports the national average for a gallon of regular gas is $4.14, which is 30 cents higher than the current Labor Day holiday record of $3.82, set in 2012. In Florida, the average is about $3.95 per gallon.
And many drivers are feeling the pinch.
"It's killing us. The bottom line, it's killing us," Lutz diesel driver, Shawn Boyer said.
"There's nothing we can do because gas is something that you just can't do without," Lutz driver Danny Reyes said.
Aaron Wood, an associate professor of economics at the University of Tampa, said the timing of this Labor Day speak is unusual.
"Traditionally, at the end of the summer, you see kind of demand relaxes people go back to school, stop driving and traveling as much, fewer road trips. And so we've never seen gas on average be $4 a gallon at Labor Day."
Wood said the escalating conflict in Iran is directly impacting oil prices.
"The danger of trying to get the product through the Strait of Hormuz, that is keeping oil prices high perpetually."
Diesel has also reached an all-time high of $5.85 per gallon. Because companies use diesel to ship goods by truck, boat, and train, Wood said the record price could drive up costs for everyday consumers.
"Anything that requires diesel to get a product to market, which is a whole lot of stuff, you'll see some inflationary pressures for consumers," Wood said.
At a 7-Eleven in Lutz, Tampa Bay 28 reporter Annette Gutierrez caught with drivers about how they are feeling.
Boyer runs a landscaping business and relies on diesel. He said for small business owners, the situation is even more pressing because the costs are adding up.
"$3,000 a month — my brother and I apiece — because of fuel and all the expenses. Yeah, it's not good. Here, I'm trying to retire and you can't — getting close to it and, I got to take a pay cut."
Boyer said he has been absorbing the higher costs to avoid passing them on to customers, but that may not be possible much longer.
"Going into next year? I'm gonna have to. I'll wait and get through the winter because we hit them once, but I got to. There's no choice," Boyer said.
Meanwhile Reyes said a trip to visit his son in college in West Palm Beach has become a significant expense.
"It's gotten to the point where it's just $100 in gas just going there and coming back. Just the gas."
With the holiday shopping season approaching, Reyes said the timing is especially difficult.
"The holidays are right around the corner. This is when the wallet starts to really feel the squeeze… Unless something is done or something changes, it's going to get worse," Reyes said.
Experts say relief at the pump is uncertain — and tied directly to how the conflict in Iran plays out.
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