Diesel prices dropped for the fourth straight week, according to the Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration (EIA).
The average price per gallon fell 0.9 cents to $3.925 per gallon, following declines of 1.4 cents, 1.6 cents, and 1.1 cents, respectively, over the previous three weeks, for a cumulative 5 cent drop over the last four weeks.
The average price per gallon of diesel is up 4.5 cents annually-and up 1.5 cents since January 6 on a year-to-date basis–and has dropped in ten of the last 13 weeks. Despite dropping for the fourth straight week, the average price per gallon is 9.6 cents below the 2014 year-to-date high of $4.021 reached during the week of March 10.
As LM has reported, with prices continuing to hover around the $4 per gallon mark adjusting budgets is only part of the solution when it comes to dealing—and living—with fuel price fluctuation, according to shippers.
In some cases they look for hedge diesel prices when it is applicable, shippers have told LM. This involves committing to a certain price on fuel at which pay to a certain rate at which point it is frozen at that rate for the shipper. And it also requires shippers to be focused on keeping their drivers on the road as much they can and being profitable and not in detention.
Other steps being taken by shippers to combat high fuel prices include things like focusing more on utilization and efficiency by doing things like driving empty miles out of transportation networks.