Oil markets plummeted Friday, and the biggest loser in the collapse is likely to be the U.S. shale sector.
From the perspective of truckers, the inevitable slide in diesel prices that is coming is going to be small comfort if you’re a trucking company servicing the oil patch. In a week when the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported the highest-ever level of U.S. crude production, those trucking companies with a stake in the oil patch — like Canada’s Dalmac, which recently shuttered — are likely to see a downturn in activity that could lead to other closures and certainly cutbacks.
The final tally had lots of red ink. Ultra low sulfur diesel prices on the CME exchange dropped 10.33 cents a gallon, settling at $1.3852 per gallon, its lowest settlement since June 26, 2017. The decline was 6.94% on the day. Since a recent high settlement of $1.7068 per gallon on Feb. 19, the price of ULSD on CME is down 32.1 cents a gallon.