FIGURE G-13 Fuel Prices
Retail
Gasoline Prices
Weekly data, not seasonally adjusted
Jet Fuel Prices
Monthly data, not seasonally
adjusted
Retail
On-Highway Diesel Prices
Weekly data, not seasonally adjusted
Railroad Fuel
Prices
Monthly data, not seasonally adjusted
NOTES: Motor fuel prices are an
important cost component of highway transportation. Changes in motor fuel
prices impact the behavior of both producers and consumers, and affect the
demand for transportation in terms of level and modal mix. In the United
States, motor gasoline prices follow world crude oil prices more closely than
motor diesel prices. Changes in motor fuel prices affect the profit margin of
transportation firms, particularly trucking firms. Jet fuel prices reported to the Bureau of Transportation
Statistics differ from producer prices.
Reports to BTS show the cost per gallon of fuel used by an airline
during the month rather than the price charged by a producer on a single
day. Fuel costs for scheduled airline
services reflect contractual and storage advantages available to large
buyers, while fuel costs for nonscheduled airline services reflect economic
conditions for smaller buyers. Jet fuel prices also reflect seasonality due
to both the seasonality of aviation and because jet fuel has similar refining
requirements to heating oil. The railroad fuel price, which include federal excise taxes,
transportation, and handling expenses, represent the average monthly price
for fuels purchased by freight railroads during each month.
SOURCES: Retail gasoline and on-highway diesel prices-U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Information
Administration, available at http://eia.doe.gov/ as of Aug. 21, 2007. Jet Fuel prices - U.S.
Department of Transportation, Research and Innovative Technology
Administration, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Office of Airline
Information, August, 2007; available at: http://www.bts.gov/oai. Railroad Fuel prices
- Association of American Railroads,
Monthly Railroad Fuel Price Indexes, available at http://www.aar.org/ as of
August 2007.
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