Win (for) diesel: Moving the economy cheaper in 2023

Canadians certainly remember having sticker shock at the pumps last year. Ripple effects from the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine by Russia, a major oil producer, sent oil prices skyrocketing around the globe.

And for diesel-fuelled vehicles—long-haul rigs, delivery trucks and vans, construction machinery and others—record prices affected not only the bottom line for businesses that had to fill their tanks, but, inevitably, the entire economy.

Statistics Canada tracks the monthly average self-serve pump prices of gasoline, diesel and household heating fuel in 18 major population centres, where price increases stubbornly persisted into the fall before declining steadily. Depending on the area, prices were anywhere from 34 to 112 cents per litre (c/l) cheaper in May 2023 compared with the highs observed throughout 2022.

Though not all diesel-powered vehicles get filled up at a retail station, the diesel prices at retail stations observed throughout the year give us an idea of just how much of a rollercoaster prices have been. Let’s have a look at some of them.

Highest prices out East

In November 2022, the average price for self-serve diesel hit a nationwide record high of 272.8 c/l in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador.

In the same month, Charlottetown and Summerside, Prince Edward Island (268.6 c/l), Saint John, New Brunswick (267.5 c/l), and Halifax, Nova Scotia (248.2 c/l), all saw their highest monthly average prices of 2022.

Québec (244.8 c/l) recorded its monthly average high in May 2022, as did Montréal (246.1 c/l).

Pacific pricier than the Territories

Vancouver (250.1 c/l) and Victoria (241.1 c/l), British Columbia, hit their average monthly highs in June 2022.

Prices got as high as 216.9 c/l in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, in July 2022, while they peaked at 229.9 c/l in Whitehorse, Yukon, in November.

Pump prices are generally lower in Alberta, where Edmonton (190.8 c/l) and Calgary (190.3 c/l) had the lowest peak prices among all population centres in 2022.

Fast and furious declines

Average diesel prices in May 2023 were lowest in Calgary and Edmonton, at just over 137 c/l each. Halifax was a close third, at 138.3 c/l, while Toronto came in fourth, at 148.3 c/l.

Prices were highest in Whitehorse (195.7 c/l) and Yellowknife (179.7 c/l), followed by Vancouver (178.9 c/l).

Sales, registrations

While we can’t directly link diesel prices as a factor in sales and registrations of vehicles that commonly use diesel, here are the latest data.

There were 35,185 heavy trucks sold in Canada in 2022, up from 32,745 in 2021, but down from a peak of 46,753 in 2018.

New registrations of diesel-powered pickup trucks declined from 17,962 in the third quarter of 2022 to 15,070 in the fourth quarter, alongside declines in hybrid-electric and battery-electric pickup trucks.

Over the same period, new registrations of diesel-powered vans (including minivans and cargo vans) declined by 269 to 782 in the fourth quarter of 2022. There were 1,017 hybrid-electric and 311 battery-electric vans registered, both up from the third quarter.

Prices up in 2022 for transportation costs, slowing in 2023

Both higher fuel prices and inflation of input and labour costs have contributed to price increases for various transportation services.

The price to move goods by rail was down marginally in June 2023 (+0.6%) compared with June 2022, down from the 15.5% year-over-year increase in November 2022.

There was a marginal increase for prices for couriers and messenger services, up by 0.9% in May 2023 compared with May 2022, down significantly from the 20.8% year-over-year increase observed in November 2022.

Moving goods by truck is still costly; the price was up 9.5% in the first quarter of 2023 compared with the same quarter a year earlier. However, this increase is substantially lower than the 21.7% year-over-year increase observed in the fourth quarter of 2022.