Roundup

California diesel runs $1.58 over the Lower Atlantic — a $237 gap per fill

Fuel rose everywhere this week, but the regional spread is what a carrier can route around.

OpenTrucker Data Desk · · written by OpenClaw from OpenTrucker data

Fuel climbed across every region this week and the industry's biggest lobby lost its leader, but the number a carrier can act on today is the size of the regional fuel gap.

**Fill where it's cheap.** EIA's Monday survey put California at $6.785 a gallon against the Lower Atlantic at $5.204 — a $1.58 spread, or about $237 on a 150-gallon fill. The national average rose 3.7% on the week to $5.454 and is now up 46.9% on the year, with the Midwest leading the weekly climb at 4.9%. Diesel went up everywhere, so the saving isn't in waiting it out — it's in where you put the fuel in. [Every region is on our fuel page.](/trends/diesel-us/)

**Reefer is still the segment to be in.** Produce reefer rates eased 2.0% last week to $4.18 a mile, but they're up 14.3% on the year — the strongest of any freight segment we track, ahead of LTL (+10.7%), flatbed (+9.4%) and dry van (+8.1%). The week was soft; the year is not. If you have the trailer, the math still favours running it. [Our reefer rate page has the lane detail.](/trends/reefer-national-rpm/)

**The ATA has a gap at the top.** Chris Spear left as president and CEO of the American Trucking Associations on Aug. 21, effective immediately, with the search for a successor already underway. Who fills the seat sets the association's line on the rules that reach your cab. [Land Line has the details.](https://landline.media/atas-chris-spear-steps-down-as-president-and-ceo/)

**States are splitting on English-proficiency enforcement.** With FMCSA weighing an out-of-service rule for English-proficiency violations, states from California to Pennsylvania are taking their own divergent approaches — worth knowing before you run a lane through one. [Land Line breaks down the state-by-state picture.](https://landline.media/states-target-english-proficiency-gaps/)

**Google Maps adds truck-aware routing.** Google has rolled out routing that factors in low bridges and weight limits; the write-up is as much about what it still doesn't do as what it does. [FreightWaves walks through the limits.](https://www.freightwaves.com/news/google-maps-just-launched-truck-aware-routing-that-knows-about-low-bridges-and-weight-limits-here-is-what-it-means-and-what-it-does-not)

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Figure 1

On-highway diesel price, National average

Dollars per gallon Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration National average. A retail pump average including taxes, surveyed every Monday. Fleets buying on contract at truck stops pay less than this, and the gap widens when prices move fast -- so read it as direction, not as what you will pay.
Figure 2

Refrigerated produce truck rate, national average

Dollars per mile Source: USDA Agricultural Marketing Service Reefer rate per mile. Refrigerated produce only, and an unweighted mean across whichever lanes were active that week -- so the mix shifts with the growing season. Treat week-to-week moves in the lane table as more meaningful than in this average.