Is Diesel ever going to come down ?

[xgarys]

SW Washington State runs around $3.49 all year and the Governor has promised us that it will go up.

[JimHs1]

A friend is the head of a gas/diesel plant. He told me the price of diesel stayes high due to how much other countries are paying to import US diesel. Keeps our market price high.

[spock123]

Originally Posted by wicked1

The other part of the problem is ?

Doesn’t matter if they can sell Diesel for less, it is supply and demand, if ppl need this they can use that for a reason to keep prices high, also truckers, Commercial and other Diesel vehicles are out there demand is high.

One thing I have not seen but I am sure it will crop up is a adjustment in shipping costs since the price of D is high and truckers have to pay more for it eventually they will have to pass the cost, a lot of them are losing money with the cutbacks in hours they drive, and if their cost (diesel fuel) goes up they will have no choice but to pass that on.

The big question only you can answer is at what price will it cause you to cutback on your plans or travels?

I use my F350 everyday and for towing our 5th wheel but if it peaks $4.00 per gallon may not be worth it anymore so we would just decide to give up camping or I get a Subaru to use for work and save the F350 just for towing the 5th wheel.

It would have to rise over $4.00 with no sign of coming down for us to consider this

Diesel would have to get to $5.00 a gallon for us to cut back. We could eat out less. We could cut back. I didn’t retire to sit at home. What are the Canadian’s paying for diesel now, the price goes up here it goes up there too

[opfor2]

Here in the people’s republic of Kalifornia diesel in Ventura County is presently $ 3.87 a gallon.

[REL]

Here in PA diesel is anywhere between $3.60 and $3.85 a gallon..Gas is averaging $2.80..I drive 15 miles south to Maryland and pay about $3.10-3.15 per gal to fill up.. The last month I have been traveling through Delaware and have been filling up for $2.85 a gallon...Pa is obviously not diesel friendly and is rapeing the over the road truckers with taxes and surcharges...

[diane1433r]

I find the big truck stops, flying j, loves, etc, charge more for diesel than the smaller independent stations. Has anyone else noticed this?

[USMC0369]

Just pulled my 5th wheel from Houston to San Diego and back. Diesel was and still is 2.84 a gal here in Alvin Tx.

The highest I saw was 4.19 but even on base in California diesel was 3.68.

In New Mexico we drove past Pilot and Loves where diesel was 3.78 per gal,,literally 5 blocks down the street we got our fuel at Walmart for 3.01. Its horrible how they gouge.

[rthomaslyons]

Diesel fuel is diverted to heating fuel in the colder months so it costs more

[Mad Cow]

E85 fuel in my area now is at $1.35 a gallon. No 3/4 ton with a diesel can match the low cost per mile I am getting with my 3/4 ton gasser on E85. With the $1.35 a gallon, and an average 10-11 mpg (all miles.. city, highway, hauling, etc) on the stuff, that comes out at roughly 13 cents a mile fuel cost. Diesel in my area, $3.05 a gallon, a 3/4 ton diesel would have to average (that is all miles... city, highway, hauling, etc) over 23 mpg just to break even on cost per mile. Not likely to happen any time soon.

Too bad I have to go thru 21,000 gallons of diesel a year in my commercial stuff.

[spock123]

Originally Posted by diane1433r

I find the big truck stops, flying j, loves, etc, charge more for diesel than the smaller independent stations. Has anyone else noticed this?

I see that everywhere I travel. I haven’t stop at a Pilot/Flying J in I don’t know how long.

[Scott Troedson]

Not only is dieselq expensive , the 30000 mi service isn't free either. Almost 2 grand for full service.

[Mad Cow]

Originally Posted by diane1433r

I find the big truck stops, flying j, loves, etc, charge more for diesel than the smaller independent stations. Has anyone else noticed this?

That generally is true. But commercial users who are the primarily customers of the major truck stops get decent discounts off the pump price. For instance, today's cash pump price for diesel at T/A in Walcott, IA is $3.28 a gallon, but as a commercial buyer, I get $.66 off the cash pump price for a real purchase price of $2.62.

Love's in Newton, IA cash pump price is $3.13 a gallon for diesel, but if I fueled there today I would get 49 cents knocked off the cash price for a real price of $2.64 a gallon.

There is not a independent or mom and pop fuel stop that can match the low cost for diesel I can get, as a commercial user, from the major truck stop chains. As a general consumer, the independent and mom and pop fuel stations are the better value. So you would be correct in the pricing scheme.

[Too Tall]

IMO, from what I read about the ultra low sulfur standards coming, diesel will continue to rise. Gasoline will also however. I've noticed the cheaper diesel at some of the truck stops have more chicken fat (biofuel) in it which is not as healthy for the engine as the pure stuff.

[wabakami]

Originally Posted by spock123

Diesel would have to get to $5.00 a gallon for us to cut back. We could eat out less. We could cut back. I didn’t retire to sit at home. What are the Canadian’s paying for diesel now, the price goes up here it goes up there too

Here in Huntsville, in central Ontario (3 hours north of Toronto, about 4.5 hours north of Buffalo); current regular gas prices are $3.09 and diesel is $3.41.

That's converted to US gallons and US dollars, current exchange rate, C$1 = US$0.76.


Geoff
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[Mad Cow]

Originally Posted by Too Tall

IMO, from what I read about the ultra low sulfur standards coming, diesel will continue to rise. Gasoline will also however. I've noticed the cheaper diesel at some of the truck stops have more chicken fat (biofuel) in it which is not as healthy for the engine as the pure stuff.

Pure stuff? Like soy biodiesel which is the majority of biodiesel in the country? Actually biodiesel is primarily made from a wide variety of plant derived oils like corn, soy, peanut, etc. Yes, there is also some animal fats that get processed as well. A simple 2% blend of biodiesel raises the lubricity level of diesel equal or greater than pre-ULSD diesel fuel. And biodiesel raises the cetane of regular diesel also. It can have a tougher time in extreme cold, for sure. But that simple 2% bio blend will exceed the lubricity additive of anything one can get off the shelf.

And not as healthy for the engine? My Detroit 60 12.7L somehow didn't get the memo. It has been primarily on biodiesel of 10% to 20% for the last 907,000 miles. Original injectors, fuel pump, etc and the motor only uses about 2 qt of oil in 25,000 mile oil changes.

[Billb117]

Diesel has more energy per gallon than Gasoline. A lot more. That is what even with the higher Cid engines the mileage is better Tha gas. Does not even out the price but gasoline engines are so unsuitable for 14-18K pound RV's.

[babock]

Originally Posted by Billb117

Diesel has more energy per gallon than Gasoline. A lot more.

It has around 13% more BTUs. It also costs around 13% more.

[fred3]

Diesel fuel and home heating oil are the same, so as a previous poster said during winter months the price of diesel will rise. Also as far as biodiesel, Otto Diesel designed his engine to run on peanut or vegetable oil.

[psikora]

Originally Posted by Cowracer

Short answer is "no".

When they reformulated diesel into ULSD (Ultra low sulfur diesel) back in 2006, they ahem... 'conveniently' made it so our fuel standards matched Europe's. America became a net EXPORTER of finished fuels like diesel. Europe is BIG on diesel. Unlike here, a large chunk of passenger cars run on diesel.

Before 2006, American refineries could not sell their fuel in Europe. Diesel was actually almost a waste product from the refining process. You refine a 100 barrels of crude and you are going to get x amount of gas, x amount of diesel, x amount of other things. There is just no way around it. With only OTR truck and the odd pickup running diesel, there was more diesel made than was needed. That's why diesel was always historically lower than gas. They almost needed to give it away to keep the refineries running. Out east, people used 'fuel oil' to heat their houses. That fuel oil is diesel you know... Anyway, with the people filling using diesel to heat their houses, the demand went up, and it took the prices up with it. That's a big reason diesel used to historically go up in the winter (as I called it... the winter tax)

Nowadays, with a MUCH larger market for diesel available to the refiners, the price has gone up, and the price swings we used to get have pretty much ended. Gas is usually a pretty specific formulation for each region. You cant really take St. Louis gas and transport it to California and sell it there if one of their refineries goes down. The formulation is all wrong. But with the global universality of diesel, if St. Louis gets a glut of diesel, it can be transported anywhere in the country where it's selling for a better price, or shipped over to Europe where it sells for 2 to 3 times what it sells for over here.

Might as well come to face it. Cheap diesel is a thing of the past.

Tim

Great explanation. Explains things. I remember when I first started driving (when they were still converting from stone to rubber wheels) and regular was 29 cents/gal., diesel was always cheaper than regular. If only...

[BandJCarm]

I also believe (?) that the amount of diesel refined from a barrel of oil is about 20% less than gasoline would be. Somewhere around there......... that is, there are fewer gallons of diesel that come from a barrel of oil than that of gasoline.