We use cookies to provide you with a better experience. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies in accordance with our Cookie Policy.
  • ::COVID-19 COVERAGE::
  • INDUSTRY PRESS ROOM
  • ABOUT
  • CONTACT
  • MEDIA FILE
  • Create Account
  • Sign In
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Free Newsletters
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • TRANSPORTATION
  • MATERIAL HANDLING
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • LIFT TRUCKS
  • PODCAST ETC.
    • Podcast
    • Blogs
      • Analytics & Big Data
      • Best Practices
      • Change Me
      • Empowering Your Performance Edge
      • Logistics Problem Solving
      • One-Off Sound Off
      • Public Sector Logistics
      • Two Sides of the Logistics Coin
      • Submit your blog post
    • Events
    • White Papers
    • Industry Press Room
      • Upload Your News
    • New Products
      • Upload Your Product News
    • Conference Guides
    • Conference Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • DCV-TV
    • DCV-TV 1: News
    • DCV-TV 2: Case Studies
    • DCV-TV 3: Webcasts
    • DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
    • DCV-TV 5: Solution Profiles
    • MODEX 2020
    • Upload Your Video
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • TRANSPORTATION
  • MATERIAL HANDLING
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • LIFT TRUCKS
  • PODCAST ETC.
    • Podcast
    • Blogs
      • Analytics & Big Data
      • Best Practices
      • Change Me
      • Empowering Your Performance Edge
      • Logistics Problem Solving
      • One-Off Sound Off
      • Public Sector Logistics
      • Two Sides of the Logistics Coin
      • Submit your blog post
    • Events
    • White Papers
    • Industry Press Room
      • Upload Your News
    • New Products
      • Upload Your Product News
    • Conference Guides
    • Conference Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • DCV-TV
    • DCV-TV 1: News
    • DCV-TV 2: Case Studies
    • DCV-TV 3: Webcasts
    • DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
    • DCV-TV 5: Solution Profiles
    • MODEX 2020
    • Upload Your Video
Home » On-highway diesel prices end year at lowest price point since 2004, EIA says
newsworthy

On-highway diesel prices end year at lowest price point since 2004, EIA says

December 29, 2015
Mark B. Solomon
No Comments

The federal government's benchmark price for an average gallon of on-highway diesel fuel closed 2015 at $2.23 a gallon, the lowest nationwide price to end a year since 2004, and nearly a $1 a gallon drop from the end of 2014, according to data published late yesterday by the Department of Energy's Energy Information Administration (EIA).

EIA, which releases weekly data at around 5 p.m. Eastern time each Monday, said yesterday's nationwide price was a near 5-cent-a-gallon drop from the prior week and slightly under 98 cents a gallon below data reported in the last week of 2014. In yesterday's report, the Gulf Coast region posted the lowest price, at $2.14 a gallon. California posted the highest price, at just under $2.61 a gallon. EIA data includes three subregions—New England, central Atlantic, and lower Atlantic—that comprise the East Coast, as well as separate prices for the West Coast—one excluding California and one for California alone.

In 2004, diesel prices closed the year at just under $1.99 a gallon, according to EIA historical data. Even in the brutal recession year of 2009, diesel prices closed at $2.73 a gallon, despite a collapse in oil prices from record highs in mid-2008 and a dramatic contraction in demand.

In late August, the American Trucking Associations (ATA), the trade group representing mostly large for-hire carriers, forecast that dramatically lower oil prices would reduce the industry's total 2015 fuel bill by $42 billion from 2014 levels. At that time, however, diesel prices stood at about $2.56 a gallon, about 33 cents a gallon higher than current levels. As a result, it is probable the industry's final 2015 fuel savings will be substantially greater than what the group predicted over the summer. ATA's prediction, which was based on EIA data and on the group's internal analysis of fuel consumption, includes fuel consumed by for-hire and private fleets across the board.

EIA said in its most recent short-term forecast on Dec. 8 that the average diesel price expected for the month—about $2.33 a gallon—would likely be the low point for at least the next 12 months. By the end of March, prices should increase to $2.61 a gallon, and hit a high of $2.78 a gallon in September before settling at around $2.75 a gallon during December 2016, EIA said at the time. The agency's next short-term outlook is scheduled for Jan. 17, at which time it will make its 2017 forecasts. Next month's forecast may also produce downward revisions, given the price declines of the past three weeks, according to Sean Hill, an EIA economist.

Hill, who accurately predicted in August a further 25- to 30-cent-a-gallon drop in diesel prices by the end of 2015, said a combination of ample supplies and mild winter weather have stifled the upward price momentum normally seen at this time of the year. Hill added, however, that "at some point winter will actually arrive, and that will start pushing diesel prices up a bit, along with slightly increasing crude oil prices giving some strength to diesel as well."

In what may be the most striking data point of all, 18 months ago the average national diesel price stood at $3.92 a gallon, according to EIA data. Since then, a surge in domestic production; a move by Saudi Arabia, the top producer of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), to pump crude oil at full force to defend market share; and a slowing U.S. economy combined to send oil prices into free fall. Diesel lagged the declines in oil prices until the second half of 2015, at which time they began their recent sharp drop.

Futures prices for Brené North Sea crude oil, considered the benchmark for U.S. retail diesel and gasoline prices, settled yesterday at $36.62 a barrel, levels not seen for more than a decade. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures closed at $36.81 a barrel. Crude oil prices were at more than $100 a barrel in June 2014.

Transportation
  • Related Articles

    Diesel prices should continue to drop as crude spread narrows, EIA economist says

    Diesel prices fall another 4 cents a gallon; levels at near seven-year lows

    Monthly shipment index fell last month to lowest October level since 2011, firm says

Marksolomon
Mark Solomon joined DC VELOCITY as senior editor in August 2008, and was promoted to his current position on January 1, 2015. He has spent more than 30 years in the transportation, logistics and supply chain management fields as a journalist and public relations professional. From 1989 to 1994, he worked in Washington as a reporter for the Journal of Commerce, covering the aviation and trucking industries, the Department of Transportation, Congress and the U.S. Supreme Court. Prior to that, he worked for Traffic World for seven years in a similar role. From 1994 to 2008, Mr. Solomon ran Media-Based Solutions, a public relations firm based in Atlanta. He graduated in 1978 with a B.A. in journalism from The American University in Washington, D.C.

Recent Articles by Mark Solomon

Coming together for road safety: interview with Joshua Girard

Off the rails

Freight rate spikes shaking up the C-suite

You must login or register in order to post a comment.

Report Abusive Comment

Most Popular Articles

  • IBM survey says digitalization trends will sweep trucking industry by 2030

  • Gartner survey signals increased investment in resilience over the next two years

  • Truck driver hiring pool tightens to lowest point in three years, ACT says

  • What Level of Automation is Right for Your Warehouse?

  • Growing up … and up and up: interview with Sam Bertram

Now Playing on DCV-TV

D92f0dd1 a98c 434a 9e17 30b63ee72c90

Automated Pack-out and Print-Apply System for thredUP

DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
SilMan Industries designed and implemented a mixed polybag-carton system, including automated print and apply, in a new regional Fulfillment Center for thredUP, one of the world’s largest online resale platforms for women’s and kids’ apparel, shoes, and accessories.The Situation Secondhand clothing and online...

FEATURED WHITE PAPERS

  • Using innovation to manage peak seasonal demand

  • Time to rethink your lift truck power

  • Warehouse Management System Project Toolkit

  • Solving Talent Management Challenges Now and In the Future

View More

Subscribe to DC Velocity Magazine

GET YOUR FREE SUBSCRIPTION
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • NEWSLETTERS
  • ADVERTISING
  • CUSTOMER CARE
  • CONTACT
  • ABOUT
  • STAFF
  • PRIVACY POLICY

Copyright ©2021. All Rights ReservedDesign, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing