Colorado Family Trucking Business Feels Impacts Of Rising Gas Prices

COMMERCE CITY, Colo. (CBS4) -- Erica Denney has been helping run family trucking business Denney Transportation for roughly six years. She says, by industry standards, she's still considered a newbie.

"There are a lot of people who have been around for years and years," Denney said. Twenty or 30-plus years is kind of the average."

But in that time, she's navigated a pandemic, worker shortages and now the fallout of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

"As of this week fuel is probably one of the biggest concerns," Denney said.

A week ago, the U.S. Energy Information Administration listed the average price for diesel fuel at $4.10. A week later, and it's 74 cents higher at $4.84.

"All of the loads we received this week we already agreed to last week based on last week's fuel," Denney said.

They'll try and recoup that money raising their prices next week, but unable to predict where prices may land will likely mean another hit. As those changes continue, those additional costs will make there way onto store shelves just as quickly.

John Harpole, the founder of Mercator Energy in Colorado, says oil is a weapon for the Russian president.

"The true sharpness of the weapon that Putin wields here on energy has not yet been felt and will be felt soon," Harpole said.

Harpole believes this is only the beginning of the impacts we could see.

"[Consumers] are about to become very educated by virtue of the prices that they see that are a derivative of worldwide events," Harpole said.

Denney says, while skyrocketing pump prices are their biggest concern, it only adds to a list of increased expenses and a shortage of drivers. Still, she says staying on the road is their only option.

"It's a challenge in that it's going to cost more for every single person including myself,' Denney said. If it doesn't cost more, it means it's not coming anymore."