Diesel Prices Spark Trucker Protests

Frustrated truckers in the Northeast parked their rigs, organized protests at two state capitals and halted activity at one of the nation’s busiest seaports as the price of diesel fuel continued to soar throughout the region.

	Fuel Prices
	Week of Feb. 7:
	source	price		change
	DOE	147.0		+3.1
	Comdata*	142.2		+1.5
	OPIS self-serve*	143.3		+0.3
	OPIS wholesale*	89.1		-0.3
	*Comdata and OPIS figures are from week of Jan. 29. Click here for more fuel prices.
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But the threat of the Northeast’s oil supply drying up altogether eased as the weather warmed up and more fuel was sent into the region. Higher temperatures reduced the demand for heating oil, which is widely used in the region and is virtually identical to diesel fuel.

The average price for diesel in New England jumped another 15.6 cents last week — to an average of $2.122 per gallon, the highest price of any region reported by the federal Energy Information Administration. The cost of diesel has risen 74.8 cents since Jan. 10 in New England, driven by low inventory levels and falling temperatures that increased demand for heating oil.

A broad disparity between regions of the country produced a national average price of $1.47 per gallon, EIA reported Feb. 7, and prompted some independent truckers to refuse loads destined for locations east and north of Ohio.

For the full story, see the Feb. 14 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.