Dispatched Pulse · Diesel
U.S. retail diesel — week of 2026-05-18.
EIA weekly survey, surveyed Monday morning, published Monday afternoon. National plus PADD 1-5. The headline number every broker's fuel surcharge schedule references.
U.S. national
$3.812
-0.035 WoW · +3.2% YoY
By region
| Region | Current | WoW | YoY | 9-week trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. National | $3.812 | -0.035 (-0.9%) | +3.2% | |
| PADD 1 — East Coast | $3.929 | -0.032 (-0.8%) | +3.3% | |
| PADD 2 — Midwest | $3.732 | -0.036 (-1.0%) | +3.4% | |
| PADD 3 — Gulf Coast | $3.534 | -0.038 (-1.1%) | +3.4% | |
| PADD 4 — Rocky Mountain | $3.879 | -0.032 (-0.8%) | +3.4% | |
| PADD 5 — West Coast | $4.598 | -0.026 (-0.6%) | +4.2% |
Source: EIA Weekly Petroleum Data. Volume-weighted survey of ~400 retail outlets. Includes federal and state taxes at the pump.
What it means for owner-operators
When the headline number moves more than two cents week-over-week, expect every broker rate confirmation to reflect it via the fuel surcharge. The structural West Coast premium (~80 cents above Gulf Coast) is not a rounding error — it is the floor of the spread. If you run intermodal in or out of LA/Long Beach and your broker’s FSC table anchors to the national average, you are paying the spread out of your line-haul.
- Factoring decision:when diesel climbs more than 5% in a month, fuel-card programs that bundle factoring + fuel discounts move from “nice to have” to “do the math.” See trucking factoring.
- Rate-con math: a broker that does not separate FSC from line-haul on the rate-con is harder to renegotiate when diesel moves. See the rate-con walkthrough in Reading the Broker Rate Confirmation.
- Cost-per-mile: with fuel economy around 6.5 MPG, every $0.20/gal change shifts your CPM by roughly $0.03. Recalculate against your current rate floor. See the Owner-Operator P&L calculator.
PADD pages
FAQ
- Where does Dispatched get diesel prices?
- The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). Specifically the weekly retail on-highway diesel series — surveyed Monday, published Monday afternoon. National plus the five PADD regions. We re-publish the same numbers EIA does, with the methodology link and the upstream URL on every page.
- How is the on-highway diesel price calculated?
- EIA surveys roughly 400 retail diesel outlets every Monday morning, weights by gallons sold, and publishes the volume-weighted average for the U.S. and each PADD region by Monday afternoon. The price includes federal and state taxes paid at the pump.
- What does WoW and YoY mean here?
- WoW = week-over-week (this Monday vs. last Monday). YoY = year-over-year (this Monday vs. the same week one year ago). Both columns matter: WoW catches refining and supply shocks; YoY catches the cycle.
- Why is West Coast diesel always more expensive?
- PADD 5 (West Coast) carries CARB diesel specifications (California's low-aromatic blend), the highest state diesel taxes in the country (CA, WA, OR), and the longest supply lines. The spread vs. PADD 3 (Gulf Coast, the refining heart of the U.S.) is structural — it rarely closes below 70 cents and routinely runs over a dollar.
- How does this affect my fuel surcharge?
- Most broker fuel surcharge schedules anchor to the EIA national on-highway diesel number — the same number on this page. The schedule typically pays 1 cent per mile per $0.06 over a baseline (often $1.20-$1.30). When the headline number moves a nickel, your FSC moves about a penny per mile. Check your rate confirmation's FSC table — every broker has their own baseline and step size.