The U.S. national pump price for diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) remained at $2.79 per gallon in February, which is the third consecutive month that DEF prices have leveled off, according to Chris Goodfellow, emissions analyst with global consulting firm Integer Research.
Prior to this period, the U.S. national average has only held steady month-to-month once, which occurred back in April 2012, he said.
“The price of urea, which is used in DEF manufacturing alongside de-ionized water, has been relatively stable over the last few months and this has had a direct impact on pricing at the pump,” Goodfellow told Fleet Owner.
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“The number of truck stops adding bulk DEF facilities has increased over the last six months, with an average of two coming online per day,” he added. “However, the leading truck stop chains have maintained regional or national pump prices for some time and this has a big impact on the U.S. average.”
Goodfellow also noted that the national Canadian DEF pump price also held level at CAD 80 cents per liter in February – roughly equating to $3.16 per gallon in U.S. dollars – and that the average price for DEF in Canada hasn’t changed since the first retail pump for the liquid came online in October 2011.
The rate at which Canadian truck stop chains are adding bulk DEF facilities is also increasing, according to Integer’s data, with six locations coming online last month. Altogether, there are now 19 locations offering bulk DEF at the pump in Canada, Goodfellow said.
“In Canada there are now five different truck stop brands which offer bulk DEF at the pump, including MacEwen which added its first location last month,” he added. “Yet the national price for DEF [in Canada] has remained level since the first site was opened by Pilot in October 2011.”
