Bulk DEF prices largely held between February and March 2013 (this includes full truck load and less than full truck load bulk deliveries, and tote refills).

The lack of volatility in DEF pump pricing continued into March, with the U.S. average remaining at $2.79 per gallon for the fourth consecutive month and the Canadian at CA$0.80 per liter.

The number of truck stops adding bulk DEF facilities was the lowest since late November 2011, with just 16 locations coming online over the last four weeks. Historically the expansion of the network has been lower in the first quarter of the year.

Christopher Goodfellow, North America emissions analyst at Integer Research, publisher of DEF Tracker, said: “Agricultural use of urea has been lower than expected in March and this has led to lower than expected pricing. Urea is the key component in the manufacture of DEF and stability in raw material costs has had a direct impact on end-user pricing.”