Trucking news and briefs for Wednesday, March 25, 2020:
Diesel prices fall to lowest national average since August 2017
The average price for a gallon of on-highway diesel across the U.S. fell to $2.659 per gallon this week, the lowest national average since the week ending Aug. 28, 2017.
The U.S. Department of Energy’s weekly report shows diesel prices fell in all regions during the most recent week, with the biggest change being seen in the Midwest region, which saw a 9.2-cent decrease.
The nation’s cheapest fuel can be found in the Gulf Coast region at $2.438 per gallon, followed by the Midwest region at $2.499 per gallon.
The most expensive diesel is in California at $3.552 per gallon, followed by the Central Atlantic region at $2.911 per gallon.
Prices in other regions, according to DOE, are:
- New England – $2.849
- Lower Atlantic – $2.573
- Rocky Mountain – $2.68
- West Coast less California – $2.879
ProMiles’ numbers during the same week saw fuel prices fall by 8.1 cents to $2.574 per gallon nationwide.
According to ProMiles’ Fuel Surcharge Index, the most expensive diesel can be found in California at $3.426 per gallon, and the cheapest can be found in the Gulf Coast region at $2.437 per gallon.
Drivewyze adds Pennsylvania rest area alerts
Drivewyze announced it has added Pennsylvania rest area open and closed alerts to its Drivewyze Safety Notifications service, which is a free service to carriers subscribed to the company’s PreClear weigh station bypass service. The alerts automatically pop up for those with the service.
The notifications will be displayed for the duration of the COVID-19 emergency, as long as Pennsylvania rest area parking is limited. The alerts, which will display to drivers as “rest area open” or “rest area closed,” will show up when a trucker is both 25 and 5 miles out from the location.
Last week, Pennsylvania DOT announced it was closing all rest areas in the state and not allowing trucks to access them for parking. PennDOT then reversed that decision to allow trucks – and only trucks – to park there while keeping the facilities closed.
Listen: CCJ Editor Jason Cannon talks trucking and COVID-19 on WCLO
CCJ Editor Jason Cannon was a guest on the 92.3 WCLO talk radio program The Stan Milam Show on Tuesday, where he provided a high-level overview on how the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak has impacted trucking so far. Listen to the segment in the player below.
