FoodLogistics.com |

Arlington, VA: For a number of motor carriers, fuel has now surpassed labor as their largest expense, according to the American Trucking Associations (ATA).

The rising cost of fuel has the potential to create a ripple effect through the economy because, if prices continue to rise, eventually consumers will likely see higher costs for whatever they are purchasing that is being delivered by truck.

This is significant because more than 80 percent of communities in the U.S. get their goods solely by truck.

Commercial trucks consume 53.9 billion gallons of fuel each year. About 39 billion gallons, or 73 percent, is diesel. The remaining 27 percent is gasoline.

A one-penny increase in the price of diesel annualized over an entire year costs our industry an additional $391 million a year.

The Energy Information Administration reported Monday (March 17, 2008) that the national average price of retail on-highway diesel shot up 15.5 cents to $3.974 per gallon, setting a new record high for the fourth consecutive week.

Diesel prices are $1.29 higher than during the corresponding week in 2007. Nationwide the average price across the country for a gallon of Ultra-Low Sulfur Diesel jumped to $3.982. Diesel prices are most expensive on the East coast, averaging $4.04 per gallon, and lowest in the Rocky Mountain region, averaging $3.89 per gallon.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration recently predicted that the average price will rise to $3.45 per gallon this year, 20 percent higher than the 2007 average. In 2007, we spent $112.6 billion on fuel, or $6.6 billion more than we spent on fuel in 2006.

There is strong correlation between crude oil prices and diesel prices. The cost of crude accounts for more than 60% of diesel’s pump price. The same is true for gasoline.

There are 42 gallons of oil in a barrel of crude oil. A barrel of crude oil, when refined, yields about 20 gallons of gasoline and seven gallons of diesel, as well as other petroleum products (heating oil, jet fuel, etc.).

In 2006, Canada was the top oil supplier to the U.S., accounting for 18 percent of U.S. crude oil imports.