U.S. Diesel Fuel Cost Survey

WASHINGTON - Mar 29/07 - 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 March 26
                      (US$/gallon)
                                   Change    Change
Region Location           Price   Week ago  Year ago
I      East Coast         2.657    -0.004     0.071
       New England        2.713    -0.009     0.013
       Central Atlantic   2.711    -0.008     0.030
       Lower Atlantic     2.630    -0.001     0.094
II     Midwest            2.655    -0.011     0.132
III    Gulf Coast         2.643     0.003     0.115
IV     Rocky Mountain     2.780     0.015     0.179
V      West Coast         2.803    -0.010     0.105
       California         2.869    -0.006     0.142
Total  U.S.               2.676    -0.005     0.111