Diesel -- the fuel the U.S. economy runs on -- hits record high

That number matters here in Lubbock as much as anywhere. This is farm country, and diesel runs the tractors in the fields around Lubbock County as much as it runs the trucks hauling cotton and grain down 19th Street and out to the highways. When diesel spikes, it does not stay contained to the trucking industry. Freight costs climb, and those costs get passed along the supply chain until they land on grocery store shelves and restaurant menus.

Farmers running equipment through planting and harvest season feel it directly at the pump. Small businesses that depend on deliveries, from South Plains Mall retailers to Depot District restaurants, absorb higher shipping costs too. Those costs rarely stay with the business alone, and the squeeze eventually shows up in what people pay for everyday items.

Diesel is not the fuel most people pump into their own cars, but it touches nearly everything they buy. A record at the diesel pump today can show up as a higher price tag on a grocery receipt weeks from now, long after most people forgot where the increase started.