America’s long-haul truckers were already struggling. Then came $5 diesel

Jamie Hagen believed the Great Freight Recession was finally over.

Last year was a tough one for his South Dakota trucking company, Hell Bent Xpress. He was thinking about shutting down, his cash drained in the lean years that followed America’s post-pandemic shopping spree.

But he refinanced his equipment, wagering demand would pick up and freight rates would rise again. “We started seeing some real progress. There was a lot of hope,” he said.

Then the Iran war started.

Diesel, the largest day-to-day expense in trucking, has jumped 41%