Record diesel prices are crushing California’s truckers, forcing them to adjust to avoid losses as they grapple with the most expensive pump prices in the country.

Greg Dubuque’s 40 drivers are in a constant diesel-devouring loop. Their big rigs pick up loads of electronics, office furniture and other goods around Los Angeles. They drive close to 1,000 miles through the Mojave Desert and over the Rocky Mountains to Denver. They bring back containers full of everything from pinto beans to home remodeling products.

One tank of gas for his vehicles cost $600 a couple of months ago. Today it costs $1,000. That’s a record high and more than 35% above the country’s average.

“California sets itself apart from the rest of the country when it comes to pricing,” said Dubuque, a third-generation trucker and general manager of Liberty Linehaul West. “Now it’s really out of control.”

The average price of a gallon of diesel in California got close to $7.75 this week, up 50% from a month ago, according to the American Automobile Assn. The national average of diesel is closer to $5.65 at recent peaks.

‘It’s killing everything.’ California’s truckers are buckling under country’s priciest diesel