U.S. Diesel Fuel Cost Survey

WASHINGTON - Jul 26/07 - 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 July 23
                      (US$/gallon)
                                   Change    Change
Region Location           Price   Week ago  Year ago
I      East Coast         2.860    -0.014    -0.065
       New England        2.950    -0.009    -0.022
       Central Atlantic   2.945    -0.004    -0.057
       Lower Atlantic     2.815    -0.019    -0.073
II     Midwest            2.882     0.004    -0.069
III    Gulf Coast         2.815    -0.006    -0.080
IV     Rocky Mountain     2.988     0.011     0.001
V      West Coast         3.061     0.030     0.014
       California         3.158     0.011     0.061
Total  U.S.               2.889     0.000    -0.057