Etienne Hightower started Believers Trucking in 2018, with the company seeing margins of about 70 cents a mile.
Now, with the impacts of Trump-era tariffs and rising fuel costs, that is down to about 10 cents a mile.
"I'm fighting to maintain my staff, their quality of life, and I want to give them more. Unfortunately, (you) can't get blood from stone," Hightower said during a roundtable convened by U.S. Congresswoman Deborah Ross, D-Wake, on Thursday.
In North Carolina, the average price of a gallon of gas is about $4.22, up from about $3.93 a month ago and $2.86 a year ago, according to AAA. The state's prices of regular gasoline are typically about 30 cents lower than the national average.
A gallon of diesel averages about $5.50, down from a record-high $5.81 average a month ago and up from about $3.41 a year ago, according to AAA.
Ross is clear about the reason costs are rising: Iran has blockaded the Strait of Hormuz in response to the war President Donald Trump started about two months ago, throttling crude oil supplies.
"This war was started illegally. It's being continued illegally. Congress has not had an opportunity to weigh in, which is something that is in the Constitution, and the people of the United States are footing the bill," Ross said.
Ross added that ending the war would be the first step to address rising prices. But she also said that taking actions to restore full Affordable Care Act tax credits and reforming pharmacy benefit managers would address prices elsewhere, helping to keep Americans from feeling the squeeze.
Why did prices go up?
Gary Harris, the executive director of the N.C. Petroleum & Convenience Marketers, joined Thursday's roundtable. The association represents convenience stores and petroleum wholesale distributors.
Harris described how the closure of the Strait of Hormuz is impacting prices here, even if most of the supply that passes through it is typically destined for Asian markets.
"It's a worldwide commodity. And as worldwide commodities go up, the value of the product goes up and it drags prices up with it," Harris said, adding that those rising prices are causing retailers to experience tighter and tighter margins.
Once the war ends, Harris said, prices will fall but likely not as quickly as they rose because retailers are going to try to recoup some of their increased expenditures over the last couple of months.
Right now, Harris said, the price of crude oil makes up about 51% of the cost of gasoline, up from about 41% two years ago. That's entirely tied to a leap in the cost of crude oil, he said.
"People who sell this product are in a business to make money, so they will try to make a little bit more on their margin going down. The good news there is, we are one of the most competitive markets that you will see," Harris said.
Ripple effect of rising prices
The impact of those rising prices can be seen across the economy.
Hightower, the trucking company owner, has seen it among his own employees, some of whom are struggling to pay the price of driving more than an hour into work.
To address it, Hightower put a couple of cots in his office, along with a television, microwave and refrigerator.
"It's very basic, but it saves our guys from driving an hour and fifteen minutes, an hour and a half each way," Hightower said.
But the trucking company is also struggling to handle rising costs.
It was already coping with a 13 percent increase in its health insurance costs for 2026 when the war with Iran caused diesel prices to spike.
"I don't think anybody could have seen in the future that the cost of diesel would have gone up a dollar in 30 days. So the volatility's crazy. It's a problem in planning," Hightower said, adding that he's grateful that much of his business comes from an agreement to make freight shipments for Amazon.
Rising fuel prices are also hitting the balance sheet of nonprofit and social services organizations.
Ross said that she delivered a few meals for Meals on Wheels Wake County earlier this week. That program is concerned, she said, that its 1,200 volunteers who deliver meals to senior citizens across Wake County will be able to continue effectively donating fuel costs to the program.
Last year, Ross said, Meals on Wheels volunteers spent about $355,000 on fuel while volunteering.
Adam Hartzell said that his team at SouthLight Health is spending significantly more on fuel costs for its in-community counselors.
When the mental health provider was writing grants and preparing contracts for 2026, Hartzell said, it figured gas would be about $3 a gallon, with a 10% contingency built in.
"We are way beyond the 10% contingency. It is impacting our ability, and those grants and contracts, they don't change. We are contractually obligated to provide those services at the rate we said we would do it," Hartzell said.
He also added that SouthLight is spending much more than expected on fuel costs for its mobile health unit, a bus-like unit that visits rural communities who may struggle to reach providers.
On the consumer side, Harris said that he believes people will choose to consolidate trips or turn to public transportation alternatives. But the real impact in North Carolina could, he said, be felt this summer, when people would typically be driving to their beach or mountain vacations.
"With fuel as it is, you may see people decide not to take vacations or take whatever they have to do there, so I think that you may see some volatility generated by how people decide to drive and what they do," Harris said.
