After diesel’s surge slowed during the week ending March 30, the most recent week saw diesel’s national average jump by nearly a quarter to the highest weekly average since July 4, 2022, when prices were falling from the all-time high of $5.81 seen in the aftermath of the Russia-Ukraine conflict beginning earlier that year.
With the military conflict in the Mideast still pressuring world oil prices, the silver lining for owner-operators is that spot market rates are surging alongside fuel prices as offset. FTR Transportation Intelligence and Truckstop.com reported that overall broker-posted spot rates in the Truckstop.com system rose slightly more during the week ended April 3 than they did in the week before.
The total market rate is the highest since late June 2022, both all-in and excluding the portion of the rate needed to offset fuel costs. However, dry van and refrigerated spot rates adjusted for fuel costs still lag levels in late December and in the wake of the late January winter storm.
FTR and Truckstop.com said the 12.3-cent increase in total spot rates during the last week was the second week in a row in which the total rate increase was the largest ever in a week that did not fall in late December. FTR and Truckstop.com
[Related: DOT's Duffy: 'Spot rates are going to go up' as FMCSA cracks down on fraudsters]
Flatbed has seen the most dramatic increase in the last few months, with rates jumping more than a dollar a mile from a 2025 low of $1.99/mile in November to $3.17 during the last week.
All-in rates were close to 24% higher than in the same 2025 week, and rates were about 15% higher excluding a calculated fuel surcharge.
DAT Freight & Analytics reported similar metrics, with rates in all three segments increasing during the most recent week. DAT’s average rates, including fuel, hit $2.40/mile for dry van, $2.79/mile for reefer, and $2.92/mile for flatbed.
Dean Croke, industry analyst for DAT, said flatbed’s average linehaul rate, excluding fuel, of $2.55/mile is the “highest in four years and 40 cents higher than in the same period last year.”
[Related: Minding Ps and Qs of costs, rates: Trucker of the Month Greg Labosky]
The bad news: Fuel’s up big across the U.S.
The Energy Information Administration in its weekly report observed an increase of 24.2 cents to a national average of $5.64 for a gallon of on-highway diesel.
Every region across the country saw an increase of at least 14 cents, with the most significant increase seen along the West Coast. California, already with an average well above $7/gal. last week, saw prices jump another 34.8 cents to $7.57/gal. The West Coast less California also saw prices surge by 31 cents to a $6.37/gal. average. All other regions are averaging at or below $6/gal.
The cheapest fuel can be found in the Midwest region at $5.30/gal., followed by the Rocky Mountain region at $5.41/gal.
Prices in other regions, according to EIA:
- New England -- $6.00
- Central Atlantic -- $5.98
- Lower Atlantic -- $5.62
- Gulf Coast -- $5.42
ProMiles’ diesel averages during the same week jumped by 2.3 cents to $5.34/gallon nationwide. According to the ProMiles Fuel Surcharge Index, the most expensive diesel can be found in California at $7.03/gallon, the cheapest in the Midwest region at $4.93/gallon.
