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After covering nearly 500 kilometers, he hadn’t encountered a single service station with diesel fuel available.
“I’ve had to take two trucks off the road. It’s been a real challenge,” he shared.
Cook mentioned that after refueling late yesterday, he might only reach Brisbane before needing to fill up again, provided he drives “conservatively.”
The expense of diesel for Cook’s routine journey from Melbourne to Perth has skyrocketed, jumping from $5,000 to $10,000.
At some petrol stations, the price of diesel has surged to over $3.15 per litre.
Although the ballooning price of keeping his trucks on the road is not the biggest problem.
Careful fuel management is crucial even without a global oil crisis – at one point, there is a 192-kilometre gap between fuel stops on the Nullarbor, which is among the longest straight stretches of road in the country.
Cook is now worried for the safety of his drivers.
“I tell our drivers, minimum 20 to 30 litres of water, enough canned food and stuff… because our trucks have microwaves and inverters, so they’re completely self-reliant,” he said.
“It can go south very quickly, especially out there in the summertime.
Cook is on the road for a job with freight carrier Loadshift.
Loadshift’s Operations Coordinator Alex Randall said drivers like Cook are being left “high and dry”, despite trucking companies being the backbone of Australia’s supply chain.
“There’s no system telling them which servos have fuel and which don’t. They’re driving blind,” Randall said.
“What makes this even worse is that a third of trucks on Australian roads are running empty at any given time. “
The Transport Workers Union (TWU) and Australian Road Transport Industrial Organisation (ARTIO) have also warned surging diesel prices have now reached “deadly” new heights.
The unions have called on the government to pass emergency laws to keep truck drivers in business.
“Businesses are at imminent risk of collapse and workers are under deadly pressure because there are huge retailers and other clients out there refusing to pay their fair share for skyrocketing fuel costs,” TWU National Secretary Michael Kaine said.
“The federal government must act now to put in place emergency powers to ensure the industry can cope with the current crisis – otherwise we will see more transport workers die on our roads, more businesses go under, and our supply chains at breaking point.”
The time spent waiting for diesel to arrive has put Cook almost two days’ behind schedule.
He warned the knock-on impact is not “sustainable” and that prices will inevitably rise across the board.
“The problem is that we have to pass that on to somebody, and unfortunately, it’s going to be the consumer,” he said.
“It’s double for us, it’s going to be double for them, just to stay afloat. It’s going to affect a lot of people, like, without a doubt.”
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