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With gasoline prices nearly 60 cents higher than a year ago in Grand Island and diesel prices at an all-time high, fuel costs have been a bane to Nebraskans' pocketbooks.
But colder temperatures this winter have kept furnaces burning constantly, costing homeowners even more, especially as natural gas prices have also spiked.
Al Dutcher, state climatologist at the University of Nebraska's Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources, said this winter's temperatures have averaged 3 to 6 degrees below normal.
Heating demands are above normal, he said. Heating degree day units, which calculate energy demand, indicate that the eastern half of the state has accumulated an average of 8 percent more heating degree day units than the 30-year normal.
If temperatures continue their below-normal trend during March, heating degree day unit accumulations could easily surpass 10 percent above normal, Dutcher said.
In Grand Island, according to the National Weather Service in Hastings, heating degree days have also been slightly higher. That was especially true in December and January, when temperatures were colder and there was a prolonged period of snow cover.
Those higher energy costs for heating homes, added to the higher transportation fuel costs, have cut into the discretionary income people have to spend and keep the economy strong.
According to the Nebraska AAA Daily Fuel Gauge, regular gasoline (without 10 percent ethanol) averaged $3.12 per gallon on Thursday. That was 17 cents higher than a month ago and nearly 60 cents above a year ago.
Diesel prices in Grand Island, at $3.66 per gallon on Wednesday, were 32 cents per gallon above last month and 96 cents higher than a year ago at this time.
On Wednesday, oil prices spiked close to $106 per barrel.
Larry Johnson, president of the Nebraska Trucking Association, said one station in Lincoln on Thursday had diesel prices posted at $3.84 per gallon.
Past diesel fuel spikes were absorbed by many independent truckers and small trucking firms, Johnson said.
However, because of a surcharge that's currently in place, the risks of escalating fuels costs are shared by both the driver and the shipper.
Still, those higher fuel costs have a ripple effect on not only the trucking industry but also Nebraska's economy. Johnson said 48 percent of Nebraska communities depend solely on the trucking industry for goods.
He said there are 11,508 trucking firms in Nebraska, of which 91 percent have fewer than 25 trucks.
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