Diesel still expensive
- Diesel prices showed a slight weekly decline but remain structurally high because of geopolitical supply pressures. - The OPEC basket averaged about $108.52 per barrel this month, down from $116.37 the prior month. - A marginal dip doesn't restore healthy margins, so fuel costs continue to materially reduce net revenue per mile. (nytimes.com)
Diesel prices fell a bit this week, but the fuel that powers trucks, farms and freight is still running above $5 a gallon nationwide. (eia.gov) The U.S. average on-highway diesel price was $5.403 a gallon on April 20, down 20.5 cents from a week earlier, according to the Energy Information Administration. Gasoline fell too, to $4.044 a gallon, which left diesel about $1.36 higher than regular gas. (eia.gov) AAA’s daily survey on April 23 put diesel at $5.471 a gallon, down from $5.614 a week earlier and up from $5.285 a month earlier. Regular gasoline averaged $4.031 a gallon that day. (aaa.com) Crude oil eased from March’s spike, but not enough to reset the diesel market. OPEC said its Reference Basket averaged $116.36 a barrel in March, and market trackers put April’s month-to-date average near $109 to $111 a barrel. (opec.org) (countryeconomy.com) Diesel stays tighter than gasoline because it comes from the same middle slice of a barrel as heating oil and jet fuel, and those fuels compete for refinery output. The New York Times reported that the war in Iran has disrupted diesel supplies more than gasoline supplies. (nytimes.com) The U.S. Energy Information Administration had already warned in September 2025 that total distillate inventories, the broader pool that includes diesel and similar fuels, were headed for multiyear lows in 2025 and 2026. The agency said low inventories raise the risk of bigger price swings when supply is disrupted. (eia.gov) That squeeze lands first on trucking. The Department of Energy fuel-surcharge guide for April 21 uses the national diesel average as the trigger for less-than-truckload and truckload surcharges, so a $5.403 reading feeds directly into shipping bills. (energy.gov) Freight demand has not disappeared while fuel costs stay high. American Trucking Associations said its seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index rose to 116.2 in February, up 2.6% from January and 2.1% from a year earlier. (ttnews.com) That combination leaves diesel doing more economic damage than gasoline even after the weekly pullback. The pump price is lower than last week’s, but it is still high enough to keep pressure on freight rates, farm costs and delivery margins. (eia.gov) (nytimes.com)
