WASHINGTON — The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) will resume publishing U.S. national and regional average on-highway diesel prices at 4 p.m. Daylight Savings Time today.
The information will include diesel price data for June 20, June 27 and July 4, which had been delayed as a result of a hardware failure.
“We will then return to publishing the full weekly Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Update on our regular schedule,” the agency stated in a news release. “We are addressing issues with our Hourly Electric Grid Monitor, and we will provide an update on that data series on our website and our Twitter account when new information is available.”
Diesel prices are down around the nation, but not by much.
Land Line Media cites pay-for-information website Promiles.com, writing that the U.S. retail price per gallon for diesel has decreased by 4.6 cents to $5.635.
Around the country, the recent spike in fuel prices has put a damper on the bottom lines for many small trucking companies and owner-operators.
In southern Arkansas, where timber harvesting has traditionally been one of the most lucrative forms of trucking, J.B. Sams said he recently started clinching his eyes shut at the pump while filling up his Kenworth.
“Man, I needed a new roof on my house because of a hailstorm a while back, but once these diesel prices went up, I haven’t been able to do anything but barely keep my head above water.”
A couple states to the east in Alabama, Walter Sanders tells a similar story. He hauls cut timber for a small, family-run operation and has seen his diesel bills double over the past few months.
“If I could eat diesel fuel, I’d be OK,” he said with a half-hearted laugh. “It’s been bad. Real bad. We need relief now.”
Worries of a global recession are pummeling the price of oil, and should those fears be realized this year crude could cave to $65 a barrel, according to Citigroup, as reported by CBS News. This would mean far lower gas and diesel fuel prices but bad news for the overall economy.
“Thus far, we’re not in a recessionary environment,” Ed Morse, the bank’s global head of commodity research, told CBS MoneyWatch. The economies of certain countries are slowing more than others, but the world as a whole is not in a recession — a scenario that’s more unlikely than not this year, he said.
The Trucker News Staff produces engaging content for not only TheTrucker.com, but also The Trucker Newspaper, which has been serving the trucking industry for more than 30 years. With a focus on drivers, the Trucker News Staff aims to provide relevant, objective content pertaining to the trucking segment of the transportation industry. The Trucker News Staff is based in Little Rock, Arkansas.
