Diesel fuel is almost $0.50 per gallon higher December this year over last. That is nationally as well as by region across the country (
U.S. Energy Information Administration). The first question is always, “What does that mean for you?” while the second question inevitably comes…
“Why the increase?”The answer to the first question is simple – whoever bears the cost of the changing commodity comes out on the short end of the stick. As they say, $%@# flows downhill, so the majority (but not all) of the time it is the driver or carrier as they are at the end of the food chain. There is, however, a wide range of debate over the answer to the second question of “why”.
One consistent message being reported around the world is
“distribution margin increases”. This is the easiest to understand. The price goes up so the distributors can put more money in their pockets. This is in addition to the price per barrel cost increases, so now we conclude that there are multiple components to the answer (no great surprise).
The message here in the US is that
the ban on drilling in the Gulf of Mexico by President Obama has weakened our domestic supply resulting in the cost per barrel
The RV industry is showing signs of another year-over-year improvement with anticipated volume growth in 2011 (Wall Street Journal). The final step in getting units to the dealers is just as important as any other when it comes right down to it. If all else comes off without a hitch, RV transport companies do not want to be the bottleneck that breaks the system. 
