Fuel cost · weekly data
Diesel fuel price this week, with the trend and the cost per mile
Updated Oct 2026 from EIA weekly data · By Richard Bailey
Source: EIA, Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Update · checked Oct 2026
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- + This week's average is $1.37 above the 2026 average so far ($5.010).
- + The highest week in this three-year series was $6.529 on 2026-09-21.
- + California is the most expensive region at $8.181; Lower Atlantic the lowest-priced at $5.953.
- + EIA expects diesel to average $5.07 in 2026 and $4.40 in 2027 (outlook released Sept 9, 2026).
- + At 6.5 mpg, this week's price is $0.982 of fuel for every mile.
Diesel prices by region (and why not by state)
EIA's weekly survey publishes a national average and averages for each PADD region, plus a few state and city series such as California. It does not publish all 50 states, and we don't copy paid state price feeds. The table shows every regional series EIA published for the latest week.
| Region | Week of 2026-09-28 | Week before | Change | A year earlier |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. average | $6.382 | $6.529 | -$0.147 | $3.749 |
| East Coast PADD 1 | $6.137 | $6.268 | -$0.131 | $3.745 |
| New England PADD 1A | $6.510 | $6.517 | -$0.007 | $3.962 |
| Central Atlantic PADD 1B | $6.531 | $6.546 | -$0.015 | $3.908 |
| Lower Atlantic PADD 1C | $5.953 | $6.139 | -$0.186 | $3.664 |
| Midwest PADD 2 | $6.526 | $6.680 | -$0.154 | $3.731 |
| Gulf Coast PADD 3 | $5.955 | $6.177 | -$0.222 | $3.400 |
| Rocky Mountain PADD 4 | $6.407 | $6.340 | +$0.067 | $3.747 |
| West Coast PADD 5 | $7.357 | $7.456 | -$0.099 | $4.524 |
| West Coast less California PADD 5 ex CA | $6.643 | $6.791 | -$0.148 | $4.123 |
| California CA | $8.181 | $8.246 | -$0.065 | $4.985 |
Source: EIA, Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Update · checked Oct 2026
How the number is made: EIA surveys a sample of retail stations every Monday for the price of on-highway No. 2 diesel, including all taxes, and publishes the averages that afternoon or the next day. It is a pump price, before fuel card discounts and not counting any tax refunds or IFTA credits. We refresh this page from EIA's data each time the site is rebuilt.
The tax part of the price does vary by state, and it is public: every state's diesel rate for the quarter is on IFTA tax by state. A fuel card can take a few cents off the pump price at network stops; see best fuel card for truckers for what the cards themselves publish.
Three years of weekly diesel prices
Will diesel prices go down?
We don't forecast fuel. EIA does: its Short-Term Energy Outlook released Sept 9, 2026 expects retail diesel to average $5.07 a gallon in 2026 and $4.40 in 2027. EIA cites tightness in the global distillate market and higher U.S. distillate exports. Forecasts are revised every month, so treat them as a direction, not a promise.
Source: EIA, Short-Term Energy Outlook, September 2026 · checked Oct 2026
Cite or embed this chart
Free to use with a link back. The chart updates when we refresh the EIA data.
Diesel price statistics, sourced
Source: EIA, Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Update, price, trend and regions · checked Oct 2026
Source: IRS, Publication 510, Excise Taxes, federal tax · checked Oct 2026
Source: IFTA, Inc., IFTA tax rate matrix, 4th quarter 2026, state rates · checked Oct 2026
Source: EIA, Short-Term Energy Outlook, September 2026, forecast · checked Oct 2026
Source: ATRI, Operational Costs of Trucking: 2026 Update, fuel per mile derived as $2.336 total minus $1.854 non-fuel · checked Oct 2026
What this week's price means per mile
Carriers don't buy diesel by the gallon in their heads; they pay for it by the mile. Divide the price by your fuel economy and you have fuel cost per mile, the biggest running cost on almost every truck. Every 10 cents on the pump price adds about 1.5 cents a mile at 6.5 mpg, which is roughly $150 over a 10,000-mile month.
That is also why rate confirmations carry a fuel surcharge pegged to this weekly price: when the DOE number moves, the surcharge should move with it. How those tables work is in what is a fuel surcharge in trucking, and the long view of how diesel and freight rates move together is in diesel prices vs freight rates. For the full cost per mile picture, see fuel cost per mile for a semi truck.
EXAMPLE
EXAMPLE fuel economy. EIA price for the week shown.
Diesel price questions
Will diesel prices go down?
We don't forecast prices. EIA's Short-Term Energy Outlook, released Sept 9, 2026, expects U.S. retail diesel to average $5.07 a gallon in 2026 and $4.40 in 2027, which would be lower than recent weeks. Forecasts change monthly; check the latest outlook.
What are DOE diesel prices?
The weekly U.S. on-highway diesel average published by the Energy Information Administration, part of the Department of Energy, every Monday. Many fuel surcharge tables in rate confirmations are indexed to it, which is why carriers and brokers call it the DOE price.
Where can I find diesel prices by state?
EIA's weekly survey publishes a national average, regional (PADD) averages and a few state and city series, such as California, not all 50 states. State-by-state pump prices come from private price services. The state fuel tax part of the price is public: see IFTA tax by state for each rate.
Why is diesel so expensive in California?
California's diesel includes one of the highest state fuel tax rates on the IFTA matrix ($0.979 a gallon for 4Q 2026), plus state programs and a separate fuel blend. EIA's California series was $1.799 above the national average in the week of 2026-09-28.
How much federal tax is in a gallon of diesel?
24.4 cents a gallon: a 24.3-cent federal excise tax plus a 0.1-cent Leaking Underground Storage Tank tax. State fuel taxes come on top and vary widely.
Running your own numbers every week is half the job; booking loads that cover them is the other half. Our truck dispatch service and our dispatch for owner-operators price fuel into every offer.
Written by
Updated Oct 2026. Every rate and date on this page has its source and the date we checked it. How we research