WASHINGTON - The trucking industry anticipates diesel prices will once again mirror last year's $4-$5 fuel costs, reported the San Francisco Chronicle.

On June 22, the U.S. average diesel price rose a fraction of a penny to $2.63 a gallon, up almost 32 cents since last month, while the national average price for regular gasoline was $2.69, up about 28 cents since last month, according to AAA's Daily Fuel Gauge Report.

In 2008, more than 3,000 trucking companies filed for bankruptcy as the industry spending on diesel fuel rose 34 percent to $150.9 billion, according to the American Trucking Associations. A one-penny price increase in diesel prices annualized over an entire year costs the industry an additional $397 million, the trade group said. So, with prices rising again, diesel costs are once again causing heartburn in some quarters, said the Chronicle.

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