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April 20, 2000 9:30 AM, EDT

Higher fuel prices obviously increase the cost of trucking. But how much?

	Fuel Costs Per Mile by Sector
	Type	¢/³¾¾±±ô±ð 1998	¢/³¾¾±±ô±ð April 10	difference
	Less-Than-Truckload
		17.08	23.21	+6.14
	Truckload sectors:
	Tank/Bulk	14.12	19.20	+5.07
	Refrigerated	16.74	22.75	+6.01
	Gen. freight	15.14	20.58	+5.44
	Source: Martin Labbe Associates

Martin Labbe Associates, an economics consulting firm in Ormond Beach, Fla., has come up with a formula to measure fuel costs per mile for several types of trucking operations.

Using mileage and fuel cost data from 1998 motor carrier annual reports filed with the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Labbe set a baseline fuel cost per mile for less-than-truckload, tank and bulk, refrigerated and general freight truckload carriers. Data for 1999 is not yet available from BTS.

Then, by comparing current fuel prices with the average fuel prices in 1998, Labbe is able to estimate the current fuel costs per mile, assuming mileage and fuel economy remain the same.

For the full story, see the Apr. 17 print edition of Transport Topics. .