ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — Diesel hit record prices Monday, clocking in at $6.51 nationwide, according to AAA. Georgia clocked in lower at $6.34, and trucks lined up by the hundreds at Pilot Travel Center off I-20 and Bouldercrest Road in southeast Atlanta.

“This is pretty extreme,” said Catherine Buckner, whose fuel price went north of $1,000.

Buckner and hundreds of other drivers sat in line for diesel, needing the fuel but dreading the cost.

“I don’t know,” Buckner said. “I’m really speechless about it. We were promised lower fuel prices, and it’s kinda going the opposite direction.”

Georgia’s average diesel price is an eye-watering $6.34. Diesel is up significantly from this day in 2025, which was $3.55.

Buckner said that her company and others are asking drivers to plan their refueling attempts.

“My company asks me to look for the lower price,” she said. “Sometimes, they’ll tell me to avoid certain states and to fuel in states where it’s lower.”

The big hit comes to owner/operator drivers like Antonio Castillo.

“Everybody is losing right now,” Castillo said. “It’s not profitable. Truck driving is not right now.”

But he plugs away, just trying to stay in business.

“(Prices) will set you back,” he said. “One fill-up, about $1,250.”

Buckner said that means fewer trucks on the road.

“When the owner/operators are struggling, there’s more parking,” she said.

If prices stay high, the costs will likely pass on to consumers. That means everything will be more expensive, from housing to food prices.

And at some point, for many businesses, it won’t be profitable to move at all.

“I can see that if the prices keep increasing in diesel, people aren’t going to drive anymore,” Castillo said.

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