Quality Driveaway Situation Takes an Upward Spin as Fuel Costs Dip

It’s finally happening. Diesel prices are beginning to fall, which means it’s a perfect time to embark on some quality driveaway for vehicle deliveries.
According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), gas and diesel prices will probably hit a two-year low soon. The price has fallen steadily over the last few months after hitting a high in mid-September of $3.832 per gallon. The price has steadily declined to a low of $3.198 earlier this week (Dec. 17). Prices hit $2-plus dollars per gallon in 2005 for the first time before staying consistently in the $3-plus range since May 2007. It’s likely hard for many truckers to forget the month-long $4-plus spike that his in June and July 2008, or the reprieve that came later that year and through the first part of 2009 when prices dipped below $2 briefly. But, since Dec. 2010, truckers have been plagued with $3-plus fuel prices that are finally dwindling down.

West coast truckers usually catch the brunt of the price gauge and greatly affect quality driveaway situations, but prices range throughout the nation. The states in the Rocky Mountain region got the biggest reprieve as of late when their prices fell by around 7 cents per gallon, which puts them lower than what they were paying in 2011. Truckers in this region, who suffer the poor miles-per-gallon environment induced by the steep terrain, will especially enjoy this price break. The Midwest got a break of nearly 6 cents per gallon, and of course, the west coast came in last with a 4.5-cent drop in price.

Some analyst who study the difference in fuel costs and how those differences correlate to the cost of products Americans use most show a startling cause and effect. For instance, when looking at the 50 cents per gallon difference in gas between January 2010 and January 2011, costs of other materials like corn went up nearly 60 percent; wheat and beef went up by nearly 40 percent, and rubber cruised all the way up to nearly 75 percent more than what it cost in 2010. And cotton saw the biggest climb at 130 percent in those twelve months, from 77 cents per pound to $1.78 per pound.

The EIA said recently that the U.S. imported around three times more energy than it exported last year with around 85 percent of those imports being petroleum, about 60 percent of which came from none-OPEC countries, including Canada and Mexico.

Regardless of where the fuel is coming from, quality driveaway conditions rely on fuel prices that allow truckers to deliver their products and get the most bang for their buck. Hopefully, the downward trend of fuel prices will continue.