The Industry That Burns Diesel From Dawn to Dusk

Most businesses use diesel for transport. Quarry operators use diesel for everything.

The excavator that digs the rock face runs on diesel. The dump trucks that haul rock to the crusher run on diesel. The wheel loaders that feed the crushing plant run on diesel. Many crushers and screening plants themselves run on diesel generators. The lorries that deliver finished aggregate to customers run on diesel.

When diesel was RM2.15 per litre, this was manageable. At RM3.35 per litre subsidized - and RM5.52+ unsubsidized - the numbers have become genuinely difficult.

This article looks at the real impact on quarry operations in Malaysia and what operators can do about it.

How a Quarry Burns Diesel: Equipment by Equipment

To understand the scale of the problem, let’s walk through a typical medium-sized quarry operation and its daily diesel consumption.

Excavator (Loading at the Face)

A 30-40 tonne excavator working a full shift at the quarry face, loading blasted rock into dump trucks:

Daily consumption: 50-80 litres
Previous daily cost: RM107 to RM172
Current daily cost: RM167 to RM268
Daily increase: RM60 to RM96

Dump Trucks (Hauling to Crusher)

Most quarries run 3-6 dump trucks (20-30 tonne class) making continuous loops between the face and the crushing plant. Each truck:

Daily consumption per truck: 60-100 litres
Fleet of 4 trucks daily: 240-400 litres
Previous daily fleet cost: RM516 to RM860
Current daily fleet cost: RM804 to RM1,340
Daily fleet increase: RM288 to RM480

Wheel Loaders (Feeding Crusher and Loading Lorries)

Typically two wheel loaders - one feeding the primary crusher, one loading finished product onto customer lorries:

Daily consumption per loader: 40-60 litres
Two loaders daily: 80-120 litres
Daily increase: RM96 to RM144

Crusher and Screening Plant

Larger quarries may run electric crushing plants connected to the grid. But many medium and smaller operations run crushers on diesel generators, especially in remote locations without reliable grid power:

Generator consumption: 100-200 litres per day
Daily increase: RM120 to RM240

Total Daily Diesel for a Medium Quarry

Adding it all up for a quarry running one excavator, four dump trucks, two loaders, and a diesel-powered crusher:

Equipment	Daily Diesel (Litres)	Daily Cost Increase
Excavator	50-80	RM60-96
4 Dump Trucks	240-400	RM288-480
2 Wheel Loaders	80-120	RM96-144
Crusher Generator	100-200	RM120-240
Total	470-800	RM564-960

Monthly increase (26 working days): RM14,664 to RM24,960

For a single medium-sized quarry. Larger operations running multiple crushing lines and bigger equipment fleets can easily see monthly increases of RM40,000 to RM60,000.

The Margin Squeeze That Nobody Talks About

Quarry operators face a unique pricing challenge. Aggregate prices - the price of crushed stone, sand, and gravel - do not adjust as quickly as fuel costs.

Many quarries supply construction projects under contracts negotiated months in advance. When those contracts were quoted, diesel was cheaper. Now the operator must fulfil those orders at the agreed price while paying more for fuel.

Even for spot sales, aggregate prices tend to be sticky. Contractors shopping for aggregate will go to whichever quarry offers the best price. Raising prices unilaterally means losing volume to competitors.

The result is a margin squeeze: costs go up immediately, revenue adjusts slowly. For a business that was already operating on margins of 10-20%, an additional RM15,000-25,000 per month in diesel costs can represent a significant chunk of profit.

The Compounding Problem: Old Equipment

Here is where it gets worse for many operators.

Quarry equipment lives a hard life. Excavators dig abrasive rock. Dump trucks haul heavy loads on rough haul roads. Loaders push against packed material all day. Everything wears faster than in most other applications.

An older excavator or dump truck in a quarry environment typically uses 20-30% more diesel than a well-maintained newer unit doing the same work. The reasons are straightforward:

Worn hydraulic systems leak pressure internally, meaning the engine works harder
Tired engines lose efficiency over thousands of operating hours
Transmission wear on dump trucks reduces power transfer efficiency
Worn bucket teeth and cutting edges on excavators mean more passes to load the same volume

For a dump truck consuming 80 litres per day, a 25% inefficiency means 20 extra litres per day. At RM3.35, that is RM67 per day per truck in wasted fuel. Across a fleet and a full year, the waste runs into tens of thousands of ringgit.

What Practical Steps Can Quarry Operators Take?

Monitor Fuel Consumption Per Machine

If you are not tracking how much diesel each piece of equipment uses per hour or per tonne of material produced, you are operating blind. Simple fuel logging can reveal which machines are the biggest fuel wasters and need attention first.

Optimize Haul Roads

Dump truck fuel consumption is heavily influenced by haul road conditions. Poorly maintained roads with potholes, steep grades, and loose surfaces force trucks to work harder and burn more fuel. Keeping haul roads graded and reasonably smooth is one of the cheapest fuel-saving measures available.

Reduce Idle Time

Equipment left idling between tasks burns diesel for nothing. An excavator idling uses 8-12 litres per hour. A dump truck waiting to be loaded burns 5-8 litres per hour. Better scheduling and coordination between loading and hauling can reduce these idle periods.

Blast Pattern Optimization

Better blasting produces more uniformly sized rock, which is easier and faster for the excavator to load and requires less energy in the crusher. While this is a technical area requiring expertise, the downstream fuel savings across the entire operation can be meaningful.

Replace the Worst Fuel Offenders

This is the hard decision, but often the most impactful. Identifying the one or two pieces of equipment that consume the most diesel relative to their output, and replacing them, can pay for itself through fuel savings over time.

Financing Quarry Equipment When Cash Is Tight

The challenge quarry operators face is circular: they need more efficient equipment to reduce diesel costs, but diesel costs are eating the cash they would need to buy that equipment.

This is exactly where equipment financing breaks the cycle.

At Ing Heng Credit, we have been financing heavy equipment for Malaysian businesses for over 40 years, since 1985. As a KPKT licensed lender, we understand the quarry industry and the types of equipment involved.

What quarry operators should know about our financing:

We finance used and older equipment. A well-maintained used excavator or dump truck that is more fuel-efficient than your current unit is a practical upgrade. It does not have to be brand new to make financial sense.
0% deposit is available. When RM15,000-25,000 per month is going to extra diesel costs, you need every ringgit of working capital.
We have served over 4,000 customers across Malaysia, including operators in the quarrying and mining sectors.

Be Realistic, Not Optimistic

Diesel prices are not returning to RM2.15. The government’s subsidy rationalization is a structural change, not a temporary adjustment.

Quarry operators who plan for sustained higher fuel costs - and invest in efficiency where they can - will be in a stronger position than those who wait and hope. The numbers do not lie: inefficient equipment at RM3.35 per litre diesel is a drain that only gets worse with time.

Control what you can control. Start with the equipment that wastes the most fuel.

Need Help Managing Cash Flow?

Cash flow tight with rising diesel costs? We finance equipment for businesses like yours:

Old or used equipment? We finance that
Flexible repayment terms
0% deposit available

WhatsApp: 017-570 0889

Since 1985 - helping Malaysian businesses keep moving.

Diesel Price Increases Hit Malaysia's Quarry Operators Hard in 2026