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November 28, 2005 1:00 PM, EST

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iesel fuel supplies remain tighter than gasoline even as prices have eased in the past month, and the trucking industry has had difficulty passing on some associated costs, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday.

Because U.S. refiners are more geared toward producing gasoline than diesel, and with strong demand abroad keeping diesel imports to a minimum, supplies are constricted, the Journal reported, citing the American Petroleum Institute and other analysts.

Gasoline imports surged more than 50% in the wakes of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in September and October, the paper said, but diesel imports showed little or no growth.

Some analysts said the trend toward more constrained diesel supplies could accelerate next year, when new Environmental Protection Agency regulations requiring lower sulfur levels in so-called ultra-low-sulfur diesel, or ULSD, take effect, the Journal said.