Diesel users still feeling pain at pump

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - Diesel fuel was once a cheaper alternative to gasoline. Now, it's the other way around. Diesel is almost a dollar a gallon more than regular unleaded. The switch has truck drivers struggling to make ends meet.

Diesel prices are actually down from earlier this year when it was more than $4 a gallon, now it's less than $2.50. But down or not, the price of diesel has many truck drivers asking the same question.

"Diesel is a byproduct of gasoline, so why is it 90 cents higher than regular gas? It's ridiculous," said truck driver J.L. Wray.

Wray is an owner-operator who drives 150,000 miles a year.

"When fuel goes up, rates are slow to go up. When fuel comes down, rates drop real quick. It's still hurting us," said Wray.

Jeff White drives 130,000 miles a year. He said he can't understand why the price of a barrel of oil is less than $50 now, yet a gallon of diesel costs so much.

"In '04, the price of diesel a barrel was $55 and we were paying $1.61 at this very spot. We're still a buck off. It comes out of my pocket," said White.

Experts said there are actually two reasons why diesel prices are not falling as far or as fast as regular gasoline. One is that the demand for diesel remains strong. The other, is that the federal standard for sulfur in diesel fuel has dropped from 500 parts per million to 15 parts per million, meaning it costs more to refine now.

It's an explanation that doesn't travel well with truckers.