Diesel is a lot easier to to refine than gas but the demand is much higher because the usage by the trucking industry is not discrectionary. So the oil companies raise the price on diesel because the trucking companies have the money and have to use it. I work for an auto hauling company with about 200 car carriers. We can't really shut down because we have contracts with 4 major manufacturers (yes-Chrysler is one of them) and if we don't haul them, somebody else will
It is so ironic that the oil companies cry about lack of refinery capacity and they can't afford to build new ones BUT they all have had record profits. Billions of dollars in profits!!
Ever hear of an oil company going belly up lately?