LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – People are pumping the brakes on getting gas as prices continue to soar on diesel, but for those who drive for a living, keeping the tank empty is not an option.

Truck drivers said they are feeling the effects.  According to the American Transportation Research Institute, fuel prices right now rank as the top concern in the trucking industry.

“It’s just everything and you know we haul everything that, we haul the stuff that built the parking lot you know, so it is just really bad,” Truck driver Christopher Eaves said.

Christopher Eaves has been a truck driver for more than four years, spending at the pump.

“Every day I go through a half a tank which is about 170 gallons,” Eaves said.

With the state’s average diesel prices Sunday, according to AAA, $4.94 a gallon, translates into $840 a day for Eaves.

“It’s just crazy,” Eaves stated.

Eaves said due to the diesel prices, some companies are either having to shut down or make changes to stay afloat.

“We have to go out of the way, I’m taking these logs up to South Shore, Kentucky and instead of going straight through, we’ve got to go out of the way 20-30 miles just to save and fuel at our shop,” Eaves admitted.

As time goes on, Eaves said numbers at the pump will impact more than just the one behind the wheel.

Tricking down to the consumer, who is buying what the truck drivers are carrying.

“You know the fuel goes up and the people that see us driving down the highway that don’t know anything about it, you know they go to the store and food is doubling and they are like well why is this,” Eaves stated.

Mylon Hutchinson said at his former job, the company would take money out of their paycheck due to the cost of fuel being so high.