Diesel Price Increases After 5-Week Decline

May 3, 2000 10:54 AM, EDT

The price for a gallon of diesel fuel jumped 3 cents last week after five straight weeks of decline — putting the spotlight again on the survival struggles of small trucking companies and owner operators.

	Fuel Prices
	Week of April 24:
	source	price		change
	DOE	142.8		+3.0
	Comdata*	137.2		-0.8
	OPIS self-serve*	138.8		-0.6
	OPIS wholesale*	85.2		+5.1
	*Comdata and OPIS figures are for the week of April 15-21. Click here for more fuel prices.
		More coverage on Truckline

The good news for heavy diesel users is that prices may be headed downward again, but the bad news is that a lot of truckers may fail before the price gets significantly lower.

The national average reached $1.428 a gallon on April 24, up from $1.398 the previous week, according to the federal Energy Information Administration. In doing so, it fulfilled a prediction made last week by the editorial director of an oil trade publication ("Fuel Price Fall Is Steady But Future Spikes Expected," 4-24, p. 1).

Citing low inventories and unseasonably cool weather in the Northeast, Tom Kloza of the Oil Price Information Service in Rockville, Md., had forecast rising wholesale prices would produce a spike in the retail price. However, he now thinks the worst is over and expects additional declines.

For the full story, see the May 1 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.