Price of Diesel Fuel vs. Regular Unleaded

[CodeJockey]

Anyone dare to speculate on why the spread between diesel fuel (ULSD D2) is roughly 25% more that regular unleaded?

I'm driving a TDI Jetta (Diesel) and getting somewhere between 37 ~ 44 mpg. There was a time when diesel was much less that RUG. Then I decide to go diesel and the price secenaro flips. Go figure.

[E.Allen]

This is the new environmentally friendly diesel. Harder to refine to new standards.

[devere]

Diesel fuel competes directly with oil for heating in the winter, and it’s reportedly been the coldest winter in a century.

[OrioleFan]

Like when you paid to put the lead in then paid to take the lead out...

[RightWhale]

NYMEX fuel oil $3.10
RBOB gasoline $2.67
It costs more wholesale, too, and if you have oil heat it is the same stuff.

[rhombus]

Maybe you can convert your car to run on Dunkin’ Donuts. ;-)

[Red Badger]

PING!....

[GeorgiaDawg32]

coldest winter in a century

caused by climate change of course../s

[NVDave]

First, what comes out of a refinery isn’t just diesel - it is called “distillate” and gets turned into:

- home heating oil
- JetA
- diesel #1/#2
- kerosene

So you have a bunch of demands on the refinery for products from the same point in the cracking column. For every barrel of crude you refine, you get more gasoline out of it than you get diesel.

Next you have the worldwide demand for diesel as a factor. The US is still running our auto fleet on gasoline. Europe has converted their auto fleet to 45% diesel cars, and over half of all new cars sold in the EU are diesels now. Diesel autos are at least reasonably popular almost everywhere other than the US/Canada, so there’s demand for diesel as auto fuel around the world. European refiners now have a surplus of gasoline which they’re shipping to North America, which reduces the price of gas under diesel, esp. on the east coast.

Then you see diesel as the industrial fuel. There are almost no gasoline industrial engines. Farm equipment, heavy trucks, boats, stationary generator sets, irrigation engines, etc, etc — all use diesel in the vast majority. China is slurping up huge quantities of diesel as they industrialize.

Long story short: for everyone but the people driving gasoline cars in the US, diesel is the preferred fuel in the world now, the demand is high, the supply is fungible and the result is high prices.

[nascarnation]

You’re getting more BTUs/gallon (ie energy content) with diesel vs. gas
It should be more costly, IMHO.

There will be a strong upward pull on worldwide diesel prices as that fuel gets more common usage, especially because of India and China coming on line with a LOT of trucks and buses.

[Red Badger]

DIESEL AND HOME HEATING OIL ARE THE SAME STUFF, BUT not NOW that the low sulfur standards are in effect!.............

[CodeJockey]

Diesel fuel competes directly with oil for heating in the winter, and it’s reportedly been the coldest winter in a century.

Paging Mr. Gore...

[KenHorse]

Back when diesel was much cheaper than gas, not that many non-truck driving people drove diesel powered vehicles compared to today. The same goes for recreational boats - I bet there's many more diesels on the water today than say... 30 years ago.

Supply and demand. Economics 101....

[Red Badger]

China is slurping up huge quantities of diesel as they industrialize.

Don't forget that the US military has begun an ALL DIESEL ALL THE TIME program for all vehicles used by the defense department..........

[fireforeffect]

Try a truck stop too. I have noticed between $0.20 and $1 difference between urban and rural fuel stations. An off interstate rural truck stop will typically have the best price and an urban gas station the worst.

[CodeJockey]

Your response is the most logical one I’ve heard to date.

[nascarnation]

FWIW the most economical transportation for the US (total cost of ownership, not just fuel cost) is older small cars.
Not necessarily the safest obviously due to weight and safety features.
Many mid-90s small cars do at least have ABS and frontal airbags.

[LTCJ]

I decide to go diesel

Well, there's yer problem right there, young feller ...
The price of diesel iz yer fault...

[mnehring]

Different areas have different environmental requirements for diesel fuel blends, often changing from month to month- far more than regular gasoline. These requirements force the refineries to shut down and reconfigure each time they are forced to process a new blend. This also results in far smaller production runs. It really depends on where you are at. Where I am at in Texas, there is very little difference between diesel and regular gas.

[CodeJockey]

FWIW the most economical transportation for the US (total cost of ownership, not just fuel cost) is older small cars.

I heard that. I used to own a '95 Geo Metro. It had a one liter 3 cylinder engine, repeat 3 cylinder. Got around 45 mpg and that was thirteen years ago.