U.S. Diesel Fuel Cost Survey

WASHINGTON - Dec 14/06 - SNS -- The weekly diesel price provides a proxy for trends in U.S. truck rates, according to the USDA.

Diesel fuel is a significant expense for agriculture commodity movements by truck, accounting for 37% of the estimated variable cost.

       Retail On-Highway Diesel Prices to December 11
                      (US$/gallon)
                                   Change    Change
Region Location           Price   Week ago  Year ago
I      East Coast         2.610     0.000     0.152
       New England        2.749     0.033     0.151
       Central Atlantic   2.730     0.013     0.153
       Lower Atlantic     2.546    -0.009     0.153
II     Midwest            2.563    -0.015     0.154
III    Gulf Coast         2.540     0.003     0.111
IV     Rocky Mountain     2.724     0.017     0.323
V      West Coast         2.931     0.071     0.431
       California         2.963     0.103     0.498
Total  U.S.               2.621     0.003     0.185