Kansas shoppers should expect to pay more for groceries as diesel costs increase

WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) – The holidays may not be on your mind just yet, but diesel prices now could drive up grocery bills in the fall.

Economist Bekah Selby-Leach with Newman University says that August energy prices were about 16% higher than last year, and with diesel prices at an all-time high, a price hike at checkout is likely on the way.

Whether by train or truck, much of America’s groceries need diesel to get to the shelves.

“The rising cost of energy will go up first, so that’s our fuel, gasoline and diesel,” Selby-Leach said. “Then transportation gets expensive, and then you’re going to see other things like food and beverage start to increase.”

That doesn’t happen right away, but Selby-Leach said it will happen eventually.

“It is strongly correlated, so whenever gas prices go up, it takes about six months for everything else to start going up,” Selby-Leach said.

Prices for some goods will go up earlier than others.

“Shelf stable goods will eventually increase as well. You’re going to see bigger impacts on the fresh foods, fruits and vegetables, and that will happen much faster,” Selby-Leach said.

She said the cost of groceries will almost certainly be up this holiday season compared to last year.

“It’s nowhere near where we saw in 2021. Prices were much higher during that time period,” Selby-Leach said.

She also said transportation prices in August were up 6%.

“In fact, most of our inflation right now is coming from those two sectors,” she said.

Everyday Kansans may feel the change, but she said that habits likely won’t change much.

“When we think about how this will affect consumer behavior, we might not see a whole lot of impact on spending. They’ll just end up paying more for the same goods and services, because we’re talking about holiday time,” Selby-Leach said.

She said that families in lower income brackets will feel the price increase the hardest. Higher-income families may respond to higher prices by avoiding luxury gifts and expensive travel going into the new year.

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