Calif. Ag Haulers Squeezed by Electricity Crisis

Rolling blackouts caused by critical electricity shortages throughout the state have disrupted diesel production and distribution, leading to price spikes.

The blackouts have also disrupted the entire food production line, creating a double whammy that has ag haulers drowning in a sea of products in a state where agriculture is the No. 1 industry.

In a business where Bud Wallace, president of Wallace Transport, Planada, Calif., says “mother nature totally drives you,” the power companies are now in the driver’s seat, controling the operations of pickers, packers, freezing plants, diesel fuel suppliers and truckers.