Diesel rose 3.7% to $5.454 as reefer firms and Missouri adds I-70 parking

Diesel rose 3.7% to a national average of $5.454 a gallon in the week to 18 August, the U.S. Energy Information Administration's pump survey shows, and it now sits nearly 47% above the same week a year ago. That is a retail average including taxes, so fleets buying on contract at truck stops pay less than the sticker; read it as direction, not as what you hand over at the counter.

The revenue side gave a little back. The USDA's refrigerated produce rate averaged $4.21 a mile nationally in the week to 25 August, up 1.8% on the week and about 15% on the year. That figure is produce only and an unweighted mean across whichever lanes ran that week, so the lane table tells you more than the average does: the Delmarva-to-Baltimore produce haul paid $14 a mile, the week's top-paying lane.

The monthly rate indices moved the other way. On the Bureau of Labor Statistics producer price index, dry van truckload fell 1.3% in July to 195.6, specialized and flatbed freight fell 1.2% to 168.2, and all truck transportation fell 1.9% to 205.4. These are indices, not dollars a mile: they blend contract and spot business and turn later than the spot market, but in July the direction was down across every freight segment.

Around the cab, here is the week that was:

- **Licensing tightened.** Three more states ended their non-domiciled CDL programs in response to a federal enforcement crackdown, [Transport Topics reported](https://www.ttnews.com/articles/3-states-non-domiciled-cdls). For affected carriers, compliance now means real paperwork changes.
- **ELD data access restored.** Motive and Highway settled their dispute and restored the electronic-logging data connection carriers rely on, [FreightWaves reported](https://www.freightwaves.com/news/motive-and-highway-restore-eld-data-access-after-integration-dispute).
- **Engine rules in play.** The Trump administration moved to pull federal regulators out of setting Class 8 engine fuel-efficiency standards, [per FreightWaves](https://www.freightwaves.com/news/trump-administration-moves-to-unwind-obama-era-truck-engine-efficiency-rules) - one to watch before your next truck order.
- **More parking coming.** Missouri broke ground on 255 new truck-parking spaces along I-70, due by late 2028, [Trucking Dive reported](https://www.truckingdive.com/news/missouri-kicks-off-truck-parking-expansion-project-along-i-70/828897/).
- **Theft is up.** Reported cargo theft rose 5% in the second quarter, with California and Texas making up more than half of cases and Southern California still the worst spot, [FreightWaves reported](https://www.freightwaves.com/news/reported-cargo-theft-rises-5-in-q2-as-southern-california-remains-a-hot-spot). Worth extra care on loads through those lanes.

And Canada's tariffs drew their first legal questions this week: the Associated Press reports the measures lean on a 96-year-old statute that has never been tested in court ([via The Trucker](https://www.thetrucker.com/trucking-news/business/untested-in-court-trumps-new-tariffs-on-canada-raise-legal-questions)).