U.S. Diesel Fuel Cost Survey

WASHINGTON - Oct 9/08 - 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 October 6
                      (US$/gallon)
                                   Change    Change
Region Location           Price   Week ago  Year ago
I      East Coast         3.928    -0.092     0.897
       New England        4.036    -0.041     0.913
       Central Atlantic   3.978    -0.095     0.841
       Lower Atlantic     3.896    -0.096     0.919
II     Midwest            3.858    -0.078     0.830
III    Gulf Coast         3.843    -0.086     0.897
IV     Rocky Mountain     3.886    -0.058     0.747
V      West Coast         3.847    -0.094     0.680
       California         3.869    -0.094     0.672
Total  U.S.               3.875    -0.084     0.840