U.S. Diesel Fuel Cost Survey

WASHINGTON - Jan 2/14 - 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 30
                        (US$/gallon)
                                   Change    Change
Region Location           Price   Week ago  Year ago
I      East Coast         3.943     0.024    -0.063
       New England        4.111     0.042    -0.043
       Central Atlantic   4.016     0.028    -0.089
       Lower Atlantic     3.856     0.017    -0.048
II     Midwest            3.887     0.040     0.002
III    Gulf Coast         3.789     0.017    -0.041
IV     Rocky Mountain     3.889     0.036     0.143
V      West Coast         4.025     0.040     0.034
        less California   3.930     0.047     0.002
       California         4.104     0.031     0.059
Total  U.S.               3.903     0.030    -0.015