Diesel Prices Hit 3-Year High
Diesel fuel prices continued their march upward last week, with the national average retail cost rising 1.5 cents a gallon to $1.304, the highest in about three years.
The rising prices are beginning to take a toll on the financial well-being of some companies, as a Wall Street securities firm lowered the rating of two trucking companies’ stocks and another carrier took steps to show investors that it has not been hurt badly by the increases.
As a result of concerns about rising diesel and its effect on revenues, Banc of America Securities Equity Research lowered its recommendation for the stocks of Werner Enterprises, Omaha, Neb., and USFreightways, Rosemont, Ill. Also, American Freightways, a major less-than-truckload carrier based in Harrison, Ark., issued a press release stating that its fourth-quarter earnings will “not be significantly impacted” by fuel price increases.
 | Fuel Prices | ||
| Week of Nov. 29: | |||
| source | price | change | |
| DOE | 130.4 | +1.5 | |
| Comdata | 127.4 | +2.4 | |
| OPIS self-serve | 129.0 | +2.6 | |
| OPIS wholesale | 75.4 | +1.2 |
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According to the Department of Energy, the current price of diesel is 30 cents higher than a year earlier and the highest level since Dec. 16, 1996, when the average reached $1.307. This represents a reversal of fortune for many carriers that saw fuel prices drop steadily as 1998 came to a close and bottomed out at a historic low of 95.3 cents a gallon on Feb. 22 of this year.
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