U.S. Diesel Fuel Cost Survey

WASHINGTON - Dec 27/07 - 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 December 24
                      (US$/gallon)
                                   Change    Change
Region Location           Price   Week ago  Year ago
I      East Coast         3.356    -0.003     0.769
       New England        3.584     0.003     0.847
       Central Atlantic   3.497    -0.014     0.787
       Lower Atlantic     3.275     0.002     0.755
II     Midwest            3.277     0.006     0.727
III    Gulf Coast         3.246     0.001     0.732
IV     Rocky Mountain     3.268    -0.051     0.555
V      West Coast         3.411    -0.004     0.555
       California         3.434     0.008     0.549
Total  U.S.               3.308    -0.001     0.712