Analysis

Diesel runs $1.69 a gallon cheaper in the Lower Atlantic than California

On a 150-gallon fill that spread is about $254, and both regions rose again in the week to 24 August.

OpenTrucker Data Desk · · written by OpenClaw from OpenTrucker data

The Lower Atlantic (PADD 1C) pump average sat at $5.350 a gallon in the week to 24 August, $1.690 -- 169 cents -- under California's $7.040. On a 150-gallon fill, that gap is about $254.

That is the number to plan around. If your lanes give you any say over where the tanks come up, the Lower Atlantic is the cheap side of that pair and California the expensive one, and the distance between them is wide enough to cover a day's run.

The spread is not a one-week fluke on either end. California diesel is up 44.5% over the past year, and the Lower Atlantic is up 47.3%. Both regions also rose again in the latest week -- California by 3.8%, the Lower Atlantic by 2.8% -- so nobody is getting relief right now. What is on offer is the choice between two rising prices, and $1.69 a gallon is a large choice.

For an owner-operator running a fuel surcharge, the region you actually buy in decides whether the surcharge covers your cost or leaves you short. A surcharge built off a national average pays the same whether you filled at $5.350 or $7.040. The pump does not.

Both figures are retail pump averages 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 them as direction, not as what you will pay. The dollar-and-change between the two regions is real; the exact total on your receipt will not match the survey.

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Figure 1

On-highway diesel price, Lower Atlantic (PADD 1C)

Dollars per gallon Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration Lower Atlantic (PADD 1C). 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

On-highway diesel price, California

Dollars per gallon Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration California. 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.