LITHONIA, GA (CBS ATLANTA) -
High gas prices are hurting a lot of people across the country, but for small businesses, the price of diesel cuts especially deep.
At $4.16 per gallon, fuel makes it harder to make a living.
Derrick Pugh owns a fleet of dump trucks and right now, gas prices are getting so high he's barely able to make a living. That's a problem for Pugh and hundreds of other business owners like him in across the country.
"I don't know exactly what would be the solution to the problem, but something needs to be done," Pugh said. "Because at some point, we are just not going to be able to operate."
Right now, Pugh spends $4,400 a day in fuel. When he started with just one truck, fuel was much cheaper.
"When I started in (19)97, diesel was 88 cents a gallon and it was about a 10 to 15 percent expense," Pugh said. "Now at $4.05 and $4.10, it's about a 35 to 45 percent expense."
Pugh has a small fleet of 11 trucks, and even with gas prices at record highs, he counts himself lucky to be in business.
"A lot of trucking companies have shut their doors," Pugh said.
Pugh buys his gas in bulk about three times a week. He allowed CBS Atlanta News to view invoices that show just how much he pays for diesel fuel. The first showed he spent $6,227.62 at the start of the work week. Two days later, Pugh doled out $4,013.90, and like clockwork, two days later this small business owner shelled out another $3,758.48. That's $14,000 spent on gas in one week.
"With the amount of equipment and employees we have, we are just not reaping the benefits that we should," Pugh said.
Derrick Pugh is doing everything he can to keep his business afloat, but with gas prices to reach $5 per gallon by this summer, he says that might be hard.
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