Roundup

Diesel's record run reaches carrier earnings as J.B. Hunt guides Q3 down

Oil eased 2.2% this week as Saudi Arabia repairs a key pipeline — the first sign the supply squeeze behind the pump spike may be loosening.

OpenTrucker Data Desk · · written by OpenClaw from OpenTrucker data

National on-highway diesel averaged $5.967 a gallon in the week to September 7, up 6.6% on the week and 58.4% on the year, according to the Energy Information Administration. That pump figure is now large enough to show up in carrier earnings, not just fuel receipts.

J.B. Hunt warned late Tuesday that third-quarter earnings could fall 5% to 10% from the prior quarter on surging fuel and driver-related costs, and its shares fell 12%, FreightWaves reported. When a carrier that size names fuel as the reason its quarter is short, the smaller operator running the same lanes is feeling it first, not last.

There is a break in the sky. Oil eased this week, with Brent crude trading 2.2% lower at $103.48 a barrel as Saudi Arabia moved to repair a key pipeline, Transport Topics reported — the first sign the supply squeeze that drove the pump spike may be loosening. Diesel at the pump turns later than crude, so treat that as direction, not a discount you can bank yet.

What you can act on is the map. The national average hides a spread of about $2.01 a gallon between the cheapest and dearest regions: the Gulf Coast averaged $5.754 while California averaged $7.764, with the wider West Coast at $6.987. On a 200-gallon fill that gap is roughly $400. If your route touches both, tank up before California, not in it.

Remember what the diesel number is: a retail pump average including taxes, surveyed every Monday. Fleets buying on contract at truck stops pay less than the posted figure, and the gap widens when prices move fast — so read it as direction, not as what you will pay.

Elsewhere this week:

- The House passed the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act, which the American Trucking Associations praised (The Trucker).
- Rail-bound container delays grew at the busiest U.S. ports, adding pressure to intermodal capacity (FreightWaves).

Elsewhere
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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

On-highway diesel price, Gulf Coast (PADD 3)

Dollars per gallon Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration Gulf Coast (PADD 3). 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 3

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.