Someone asked the question earlier, what percent of the price is in taxes? Since diesel is essentially unrefined regular gas, it is obvious that there are other factors than just COGS.
I know in Maine, the STATE tacks on it's own diesel tax. It is supposedly so that the OTR trucks pay a larger share of $$ going into the highway fund for the State. Considering that OTR trucks make up probably 95% of the diesel usage just about ANYWHERE in the country, this is not surprising. But what it ends up doing is penalizing the private consumer.
I've asked myself the question many many times: Why is it NOT possible for service stations to put in non-commercial diesel pumps where the tax is more inline with refined gas so that the joe-average consumer doesn't get screwed?

Also, what is the difference between say K-1 and diesel? At a local station here diesel is 1.97 while K-1 is 1.65?

 

IS there anything we as private owners can do to affect the prices? who do we talk to ? what do we do? I mean i hear alot of complaining,me in mix as well, but there has to be a solution.

 

I have complained to the oil companies and all levels of polititions and I get basically the same answers from all of them:
"Our costs have gone up and we have to pass it on." "It's the law of supply and demand".
"That's just the way the free enterprise system works."

Face it....."we're screwed".

 

The problem is not going to change unless we and the big rig drivers join together and do something about it. Diesel cost far less to produce than gasoline and these gas companies are making a killing by screwing us all with these jacked up prices. I can remember over the years since the early 1970's that Diesel has always been anywhere from 30 to 50 cents less a gallon than gas. I bought my truck in Aug 99 and went ballistic when the fuel prices first started raising in late Sept that same year and they have not stopped. "It's the law of supply and demand" as crobtex posted above and to me, the definition of that is let's see how far we can screw them till all hell breaks loose!!

 

Diesel just jumped $.20/gallon. It now costs $2/gallon. I'm 2 hours from Galveston. Even back home (which is only 45 minutes away), it's still $2. This is freaking ridiculous. There's one diamond shamrock that is still selling for $1.83 but let's see how long that lasts. Arctic Wolf, I feel the same way you do, but it would take 99% of diesel owners/big rig drivers to boycott before the oil companies would do anything.

 

Well, this is part of it:
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/ohim/mmfr/dec02/mf121tpg1.htm

The federal tax on diesel fuel is 24.4 cents, 18.4 cents on gas. In Maine, the state tax on diesel is 23 cents, 22 cents on gas (and I believe that those have gone up since this report).
Interesting, Deleware and Maryland have higher diesel taxes but when I drove the Delmarva penninsula to NC (following a buddy with a 6.5l GMC), diesel was cheaper there than it is here.... go figure....
Man, don't buy diesel in PA. 31.8 cents a gallon tax!!
Diesel can be bought here for just a hair under $2.00. Nearly 1/4 of that is tax.

 

well, the tax in PA may be at like 31.8 cents per gallon but, im paying the same price as you are at right under 2.00 a gallon...i was always told by station owners at various stations that the increase in price here in the winter months is due to supply and demand - every one of them told me that it is because so many people buy home heating oil and i guess since its similar in make up to diesel- the manufacturers are jacking up prices. im not saying that its completely correct info, just saying that ive heard it for so long from so many people that it makes me wonder. ive been worried for several months because of what ive been paying all summer long hasnt been what id call the normal summer low price- so, im assuming it will hit 2.20 as the normal for the winter months.

 

So can someone in the know tell me the difference between K-1 and diesel?

 

K1 is kerosene and lacks the oil to run the diesel engines.

 

Ah.... Got it. While we're on the subject, I know that all of the "non-refined" grades of fuel are close in relationship to each other. Can someone take it further and explain to me the differences?

K1, No 2, Diesel, Jet-A? Or am I way off?

I remember when I was a youngster, my parents had one of those in-home heating kerosene heaters. Dad used to go to the local airport and go out on the ramp (when you could still do it!) and pump in 5 gallons of Jet-A to burn in the heater because it burned cleaner?

 

Here's a good place to start.

http://www.chevrontexaco.com/brands/prodserv/fuels.asp


phox

 

YIKES ! I just filled up at a Pilot truck stop and diesel went from 1.91 on Tuesday to 2.08 today ! I guess I'm gonna have to retrain the 'ol size 16 and teach it to be about a size two !

 

I just had to redo all my freight bills and add a fuel surcharge system. Now wonder how many customers I lose. I cannot handle the loss any more, my rates were set at 1.399. Such is life. The end user ends up paying for the higher fuel.

 

now only if a politican could understand that. but as far as their concered the big bad truckers are burning the consumer.

if kerosene was widely available here and was cheaper, id be running it without a second thought on a second gen, id look really hard at how much it would cost to mix it with oil to run in my truck.

 

Can anyone explain in simple English why prices for fuel jump when things like hurricanes hit. It seems to me that the cost to process the oil and deliver it would remain relatively constant, so why the sudden jump? There may be shortage of crude to process and that could make for a shortage, but again, why would that temporarily increase the prices? Unless the petroleum companies are taking advantage to the situation and gouging everybody. If gouging is taking place, isn't that illegal?
I know that crude prices are pretty high right now but does that explain all the price increase? It is my understanding that there is a stock of oil for a few weeks, so why do the petroleum companies raise the prices immediately the price of crude goes up? They don't drop the price immediately the price of crude drops. It seems to me that they are taking advantage of the situation and making extra profit on the stock they bought at a lower price, plus prolonging that extra profit when the crude prices drop again.