Diesel prices drop 6.2 cents, says Energy Information Administration

Two weeks after the price per gallon of diesel fuel was up for the first time in more than a month, diesel saw its second straight weekly decline, falling 6.2 cents to $3.888 per gallon, according to the Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration (EIA).

This is the steepest weekly decline in diesel prices since a 6.4 cent decrease the week of May 23, and the prices have fallen a cumulative 23.6 cents since reaching a high water mark of $4.124 per gallon the week of May 2.

Compared to this week a year ago, prices are up 93.2 cents per gallon.

The price per barrel of oil is currently trading at $92.19 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, according to media reports. And a Los Angeles Times report indicated that
“crude oil prices are on such a slide that they could drop back into the low $80s a barrel,” and lower diesel and retail gasoline prices.

As LM has reported, even with the recent decline of diesel prices, shippers and carriers remain concerned about the price of diesel and oil. While many have indicated that prices at current levels are still digestible, they cautioned that could quickly change depending on how quickly prices rise with summer driving season officially here.

And even with declines in prices in recent weeks, the focus from a supply chain perspective for managing fuel price ebbs and flows—for shippers—is more on utilization and efficiency by doing things like driving empty miles out of transportation networks.