U.S. Diesel Fuel Cost Survey

WASHINGTON - Oct 9/14 - 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 October 6
                        (US$/gallon)
                                   Change    Change
Region Location           Price   Week ago  Year ago
I      East Coast         3.755    -0.023    -0.153
       New England        3.848    -0.032    -0.192
       Central Atlantic   3.830    -0.027    -0.137
       Lower Atlantic     3.678    -0.016    -0.160
II     Midwest            3.670    -0.024    -0.206
III    Gulf Coast         3.662    -0.023    -0.143
IV     Rocky Mountain     3.787    -0.019    -0.128
V      West Coast         3.933    -0.015    -0.119
        less California   3.855    -0.021    -0.081
       California         3.998    -0.009    -0.152
Total  U.S.               3.733    -0.022    -0.164

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1Diesel fuel prices include all tax