A worldwide shortage of diesel is driving prices sharply higher, which is bad news for farmers, truckers, shippers, and anyone heating a home this winter.

• Diesel prices have jumped about 70% since the war with Iran started, hitting farmers and truckers hardest.
• The real problem is not crude oil but refineries — the plants that turn oil into diesel are being destroyed faster than they can be replaced.
• Major refineries in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, and Bahrain are offline or crippled after attacks, and Venezuela's second-largest refinery just shut down after a fire.
• Ukrainian drone strikes have knocked out about half of Russia's refining capacity, cutting off diesel and heating fuel that Europe had been relying on.
• Trump's answer is an executive order pushing cheaper untaxed "red dye" diesel onto highways, but truck stop groups say the tax is still owed and the dye damages fuel systems.

Outlook: Diesel will likely stay expensive well past any ceasefire, since wrecked refineries take years to rebuild, and a fertilizer squeeze through the Strait of Hormuz threatens food supplies next.