US Diesel prices surpass $5.38(www.truckingdive.com)
25 pointsby Betelbuddy13 hours ago2 comments
  • perilunar3 hours ago
    That's US$1.42 per litre for those who don't do gallons.

    (still cheap — it's more than double that where I am)

    • bdangubic3 hours ago
      yea but we have a $1 trillion dollars defense budget which is supposed to defend against high diesel prices :)
      • perilunar3 hours ago
        The US defence/war budget could be paid entirely out of gasoline and diesel taxes:

        $962 billion / 186 billion gallons = $5.17 per gallon ($1.37 per L)

        which would double the price, but still pretty cheap

        If we were to price in all the externalities of fossil fuels into the retail price it would be a lot more expensive. It's still way too cheap.

      • pseudohadamardan hour ago
        Or, in this case, cause high diesel prices. It's a... I guess that'd make it a lose/lose, wouldn't it?
  • Tzk12 hours ago
    We’re at 2.30€ in Germany (per liter!) right now. So $5.40 per gallon doesn’t sound too bad to me.

    I’m aware that the diesel price in the us always has been quite low in contrast to Europe, but still I don’t see the issue.

    • Betelbuddy12 hours ago
      Its about the structure of input costs into the US economy.

      Same way restaurant employees in Germany have a salary, but 80% of US restaurants would close immediately, if their "associates" would not have to survive on tips...

    • whateveracct11 hours ago
      The US has swathes of relatively empty land trucks have to traverse for shipping that dwarf the entire nation of Germany.
    • 10 hours ago
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    • garciasn12 hours ago
      We don't have mass transit to offset the need to drive our vehicles; nor is there much interest in making it happen.
      • epolanski11 hours ago
        Diesel primarily impacts logistics though, not nearly as much personal transport.

        You can cope paying 50$ month per month in diesel if you drive that much.

        But at the scale of logistics companies, often tied to fixed pricing it's a tragedy.

        • blyry11 hours ago
          ~Construction and agriculture also run on diesel~ (edit..OPs comment was germane to the thread, and correct, logistics by large the majority of diesel usage on this report).

          https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/pet_cons_821dst_dcu_nus_a.htm

        • bigfatkitten8 hours ago
          The spikes in fuel costs are enough now to eat the entire profit for a trip, and then some.
        • asyx11 hours ago
          Petrol is just s as expensive though
      • jdlshore10 hours ago
        Check your info bubble. The US has a superb freight rail system that transports massive amounts of goods. If you’re talking about diesel fuel, you’re talking about freight, and we absolutely do have mass transit for freight… one of the best in the world.
        • 4 hours ago
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      • bdangubic10 hours ago
        1.7 trillion ton-miles of freight per year is as massive as it gets…
        • abdusco43 minutes ago
          What's that in football fields?
        • pseudohadamardan hour ago
          It would be if I had the faintest idea what a ton-mile is. Is it like a firkin-furlong?
    • hjouneau11 hours ago
      There is almost three times more taxes on gas in Germany than in US
    • p0w3n3d11 hours ago
      Please be minded that US people tend to tell prices without tax, because it differs from state to state. So it's I think even more... maybe even $6.20...
      • jfengel10 hours ago
        Gas prices include all the tax. Unlike many other goods, there isn't an additional sales tax on top of the reported price.