Diesel Prices Are Bringing Some Trucks to a Standstill (Peak Oil is here) [View All]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=2026&e=2&u=/latimests/dieselpricesarebringingsometruckstoastandstill

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His Peterbilt cab and 48-foot refrigerated Great Dane trailer aren't hauling cheese from the Central Valley to Minnesota. The rig isn't delivering groceries across the state or taking produce to market from California fields.

Telles said he and his truck are staying home in Pinole, Calif., about 25 miles northeast of San Francisco, until diesel prices fall or freight rates rise. "I won't haul," he said, "unless I can make a profit."

Diesel is often an afterthought when consumers and politicians are howling over high gasoline prices. But right along with gasoline, diesel prices have exploded throughout California in recent weeks. That has pushed up costs for truckers like Telles, as well as for railroads, construction companies and farmers, among others, and threatens the state's economic recovery.