Australia’s truckies were already struggling to survive. Then the fuel crisis hit

Truck drivers like Frank Black rely on diesel – and lots of it. When prices surged the sums stopped adding up. He fears for his industry

Frank Black is back on the road after two weeks out of work when he spots a sign, a little too far from where he’s standing to make out clearly.

“Is that $2.08 for diesel?” he says. “I’ve gotta check that price out. If that’s right I’m gonna fill up!”

It’s not. Diesel hasn’t been that close to $2 since before the war in Iran. Black won’t be filling up here. He climbs back into his truck, rumbles it to life and continues on his journey.

The 40-year-old trucking veteran has been caught up in the global fuel crisis triggered by the war. Like other truck drivers, he relies on diesel – and lots of it. Prices rose from about $1.80 a litre to a peak of about $3.20 in April.

As an owner-driver, Black goes by the rule of thumb that one-third of a job’s pay should go to fuel, one-third to truck maintenance and the remaining third to wages.

But when diesel prices surged, the numbers stopped adding up, forcing him to “park’ his truck for more than two weeks – it just wasn’t worth going to work.

Even without a fuel crisis, “we work on slim margins anyway”, Black says, “so the slightest volatility in fuel or any costs is going to put pressure on small operators”.