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After a one-week respite, the price of diesel fuel resumed its rise last week, reaching $1.234 a gallon, and investment analysts are citing fuel costs as a reason to lower their earnings estimates for freight carriers.

“We suspect that for the third or fourth quarter, and possibly for next year, our estimates may be too high for the truckload carriers,” Donald Broughton, a transportation analyst for A.G. Edwards & Sons, wrote in a report that said the company was lowering its estimates for almost all truckload companies.

The 0.8-cent increase came after the national average price, as reported by the Energy Information Administration, remained at $1.226 a gallon for two weeks – ending a streak of 16 weeks in which the national average increased, dating back to June 7.

The Oct. 4 price represented the highest since March 3, 1997. Since then, diesel prices fell through 1997 and 1998, reaching a low of 95.3 cents in February 1999.

For the full story, see the Oct. 11 print edition of Transport Topics. .