Trucking bankruptcies mount as Trump's war forces drivers to take dire measures: report

Well over a dozen small trucking operators filed for bankruptcy over the past month amid soaring diesel prices, and an increasing number of truck drivers have been forced to adopt extreme cost-saving measures, The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday.

“Out at the fuel bays, truckers spoke about cooking meals inside their cabs, sleeping where they unhooked their trailers to avoid overnight parking fees and waiting for rainstorms to clean their rigs rather than paying $100 for a wash,” the Journal’s report reads. “Some were parking their trucks altogether.”

The national average price for a gallon of diesel fuel was $6.36 on Saturday, up $2.65 from a year ago, and only 17 cents less than the all-time high recorded on Sept. 22. Diesel costs soared following disruptions to global oil trade sparked by President Donald Trump’s deeply unpopular war against Iran.

Now, small trucking operators are increasingly filing for bankruptcy, with the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association warning more will follow if fuel prices remain elevated.

“Small operators, which dominate registered motor carrier companies, can’t keep up: More than a dozen have filed for bankruptcy in the past month, and the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association warns more will follow if fuel prices don’t drop,” the Journal reported.

The Journal spoke with several truckers at a Flying J Travel Center in Orange, Texas, including Agron Berani, whom the Journal documented paying $944.44 to fill up his 18-wheeler with diesel fuel, which the Journal noted would have cost around $500 a year ago.

“We have to do what we have to do,” Berani, who voted for Trump in 2024, told the Journal. “I can’t sell the truck. What am I going to do if I sell the truck?”