For the second week in a row, diesel prices soared while spot market rates continued to fall from early-July highs.
The Energy Information Administration reported diesel’s national average rose back above $5/gallon during the week ending July 20. Broker-posted spot rates, meanwhile, fell across the three major segments -- dry van, reefer and flatbed.
Following a nine-week run that saw the national average fall by more than a dollar a gallon, more than half of those declines have been erased in just the last two weeks as prices jumped back to $5.13/gal.
During the most recent week, diesel prices are up across the U.S., with the most significant increases being observed in the Gulf Coast and Lower Atlantic regions, which saw increases of 39.6 cents and 35.9 cents, respectively.
California holds the nation’s most expensive diesel at $6.47/gal., while the cheapest fuel can be found in the Rocky Mountain and Gulf Coast regions at $4.94/gal.
Prices in other regions, according to EIA:
- New England -- $5.40
- Central Atlantic -- $5.37
- Lower Atlantic -- $5.11
- Midwest -- $4.99
- West Coast less California -- $5.36
ProMiles’ diesel averages during the same week increased by 25.4 cents to $4.95/gal. nationwide. According to the ProMiles Fuel Surcharge Index, the most expensive diesel can be found in California at $6.48/gal., and the cheapest in the Rockies at $4.68/gal.
Rates falling in line with seasonal expectations
Owner-operators on the spot market are seeing rates go the opposite direction as fuel. FTR and Truckstop.com in their weekly update tracked total broker-posted spot rates falling 4.7 cents during the week ending July 17 after dropping just under 14 cents during the previous week.
Even still, all-in rates were 47.5% higher than during the same 2025 week, while rates excluding a calculated surcharge were up about 56%.
As was the case the previous week, broker-posted spot rates for all three principal equipment types were around 40% to 50% higher than during the same week last year. The firms noted, however, that this is to be expected this time of year based on seasonal expectations after the traditional mid-year peak in early July.
Dry van and reefer rates last week saw about an 8-cent drop after falling 14 cents and 26 cents the week prior, respectively. Flatbed rates fell by about 3 cents after falling close to 15 cents the week before.
Load volume pulled back by 5.8% in the Truckstop.com system last week, the firms reported, after a big surge during the week after the July 4 holiday. Volume was almost 23% higher than the same week in 2025.
The DAT One load board saw similar trends last week with spot rates falling across all three equipment types. Dry van was down 8 cents, reefer down 4 cents and flatbed down 7 cents, according to DAT data. Load postings on DAT were also down 9% last week.
[Related: Broker margins took a beating in June: DAT data]
When taking out a fuel surcharge, DAT reported flatbed’s linehaul rate fell for the first time in 17 weeks, which had added 69 cents per mile since early March.
DAT analyst Dean Croke noted that the average van rate in the country’s manufacturing core -- Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri, Ohio, North Carolina, Virginia, Michigan, and Mississippi -- fell 12 cents to $2.93 per mile. The average reefer rate in the country’s food-production core -- Illinois, Indiana, Texas, Ohio, Tennessee, Wisconsin, Arkansas, Kentucky, Missouri, and Pennsylvania -- fell 5 cents to $3.31/mile, Croke added.
