The average price per gallon of diesel fuel dropped for the seventh straight week, according to data issued by the Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration.
At $3.882 per gallon, diesel dropped 1 cent from last week. Diesel prices have dipped in 12 of the last 14 weeks since hitting the 2014 year-to-date high of $4.021 reached during the week of March 10.
Weekly declines in the six previous weeks were 1.0 cents, 0.7 cents, 0.9 cents, 1.4 cents, 1.6 cents, and 1.1 cents respectively.
Diesel is up 4.1 cents annually and down 2.8 cents since January 6 on a year-to-date basis.
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.