U.S. Diesel Fuel Cost Survey

WASHINGTON - Jan 4/07 - 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 January 1
                      (US$/gallon)
                                   Change    Change
Region Location           Price   Week ago  Year ago
I      East Coast         2.565    -0.022     0.084
       New England        2.710    -0.027     0.065
       Central Atlantic   2.681    -0.029     0.091
       Lower Atlantic     2.503    -0.017     0.083
II     Midwest            2.534    -0.016     0.122
III    Gulf Coast         2.500    -0.014     0.086
IV     Rocky Mountain     2.697    -0.016     0.305
V      West Coast         2.853    -0.003     0.334
       California         2.883    -0.002     0.345
Total  U.S.               2.580    -0.016     0.138