perilunar 11 hours ago

That's US$1.42 per litre for those who don't do gallons.

(still cheap — it's more than double that where I am)

  • bdangubic 11 hours ago

    yea but we have a $1 trillion dollars defense budget which is supposed to defend against high diesel prices :)

    • perilunar 10 hours ago

      The US defence/war budget could be paid entirely out of gasoline and diesel taxes:

      $962 billion / 186 billion gallons = $5.17 per gallon ($1.37 per L)

      which would double the price, but still pretty cheap

      If we were to price in all the externalities of fossil fuels into the retail price it would be a lot more expensive. It's still way too cheap.

    • pseudohadamard 9 hours ago

      Or, in this case, cause high diesel prices. It's a... I guess that'd make it a lose/lose, wouldn't it?

Tzk 20 hours ago

We’re at 2.30€ in Germany (per liter!) right now. So $5.40 per gallon doesn’t sound too bad to me.

I’m aware that the diesel price in the us always has been quite low in contrast to Europe, but still I don’t see the issue.

  • Betelbuddy 20 hours ago

    Its about the structure of input costs into the US economy.

    Same way restaurant employees in Germany have a salary, but 80% of US restaurants would close immediately, if their "associates" would not have to survive on tips...

  • whateveracct 19 hours ago

    The US has swathes of relatively empty land trucks have to traverse for shipping that dwarf the entire nation of Germany.

    • freak42 5 hours ago

      Then build railway systems

  • garciasn 19 hours ago

    We don't have mass transit to offset the need to drive our vehicles; nor is there much interest in making it happen.

    • epolanski 19 hours ago

      Diesel primarily impacts logistics though, not nearly as much personal transport.

      You can cope paying 50$ month per month in diesel if you drive that much.

      But at the scale of logistics companies, often tied to fixed pricing it's a tragedy.

      • bigfatkitten 15 hours ago

        The spikes in fuel costs are enough now to eat the entire profit for a trip, and then some.

      • asyx 18 hours ago

        Petrol is just s as expensive though

    • jdlshore 17 hours ago

      Check your info bubble. The US has a superb freight rail system that transports massive amounts of goods. If you’re talking about diesel fuel, you’re talking about freight, and we absolutely do have mass transit for freight… one of the best in the world.

    • bdangubic 17 hours ago

      1.7 trillion ton-miles of freight per year is as massive as it gets…

      • abdusco 8 hours ago

        What's that in football fields?

      • pseudohadamard 9 hours ago

        It would be if I had the faintest idea what a ton-mile is. Is it like a firkin-furlong?

  • hjouneau 19 hours ago

    There is almost three times more taxes on gas in Germany than in US

  • p0w3n3d 18 hours ago

    Please be minded that US people tend to tell prices without tax, because it differs from state to state. So it's I think even more... maybe even $6.20...

    • jfengel 17 hours ago

      Gas prices include all the tax. Unlike many other goods, there isn't an additional sales tax on top of the reported price.