If U.S. shippers feel less pain when it comes time to pay freight bills this year, they can thank the worldwide oil glut. With the third quarter under way, the very significant impact of the collapse in oil and fuel prices over the past year on U.S. freight transportation is clear.
By July 20, U.S. diesel retail prices were down more than a dollar year over year everywhere in the U.S. but California, where they were down 98.5 cents, according to U.S. government data. The national average diesel retail price of $2.78 per gallon was $1.09 lower than a year ago.
That 28 percent drop in diesel prices has benefited shippers and trucking companies alike, by reducing fuel surcharges levied by carriers and the reliance of some carriers on those surcharges. The drop in surcharges in many cases outstripped the decline in fuel costs alone.