10/08/2026
We are all praying for snow… but lord almighty… we may need to start praying for diesel as well…
Hug your plow person this winter. Seriously.
Last year, Colorado diesel was around $3.43/gallon at this point. Today it’s about $6.04 statewide, and we’re seeing roughly $6.18 locally in Grand County. That’s already close to double last year’s price.
And this week, President Trump signed an executive order temporarily allowing red-dyed/off-road diesel to be used on highways through December 31, while directing federal tax and penalty relief for that use. The stated goal is to help truckers and farmers with high diesel costs.
Here’s the catch:
You cannot fix a diesel supply problem by giving more people access to the same diesel.
Red diesel is what farmers, contractors, equipment operators, generators, and plenty of snow operations already rely on. Opening that pool to highway users may save some people about 24.4¢/gal in federal tax, but it does not magically create more product.
Around here, that matters.
We have had fuel shortages during perfectly normal winters. Now we are heading into snow season with elevated diesel prices, tight supply, global shipping disruptions, and local fuel retailers already telling us to be prepared for $7.50+ diesel.
For a snow contractor, fuel price is painful.
Fuel availability is existential.
Trucks, skid steers, blowers, loaders and plows do not care whether you have customers waiting when the tank is empty.
So when your plow bill looks higher this year, there is a lot happening behind that number. Fuel is only one piece of it, but it is a big one.
Hug your plow person this winter.
They may be spending half the season trying to figure out how to keep $100,000 worth of equipment moving with fuel that costs nearly twice what it did last year.
#𝙎𝙣𝙤𝙬𝙥𝙡𝙤𝙬𝙞𝙣𝙜
