AASHTO Journal, 8 May 2015
The average U.S. retail gasoline price jumped more than 9 cents a gallon in the week ending May 4, said the Energy Information Administration, continuing a spiking trend in recent weeks. Even so, the EIA said the average pump price was $1.02 below the level consumers paid for gas at the same point in 2014.
The EIA released the information following its May 4 nationwide survey of fueling stations, which showed a 9.4-cent weekly rise to an average price of $2.664.
That put the pump price 62 cents above the 2015 low of $2.044 on Jan. 26, EIA data shows. But the latest average price is still lower than gasoline sold for throughout all of 2014 except for the last half of December.
Again, as in recent weeks, the price of diesel fuel rose more moderately than gasoline. The EIA said diesel averaged $2.854 across the nation on May 4, for a weekly increase of 4.3 cents. The price was $1.11 higher at that point last year.
Diesel’s latest average was 10 cents higher than the 2015 low of $2.754 on April 13, according to EIA figures. And it remains in the lowest price range for that fuel since the first months of 2010, when the nation was just emerging from the Great Recession.
While diesel is used in some household vehicles, it is the main fuel for commercial trucks. Trucking lines adjust their fuel surcharges to freight shippers based on changes in the EIA’s pricing survey. So despite some recent drift upwards in the price, the U.S. supply chain is enjoying its lowest diesel costs in more than five years.