May 18, 2026
DOE Number Falls 4.3 Cents to $5.596/gal
The DOE number fell 4.3 cents to $5.596/gal for the week of May 18, trimming about $3.31 from a 500-mile haul at the stated 6.5 mpg reference. The index is 46% above its 5-year median.
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The DOE number (EIA's weekly on-highway diesel survey) fell 4.3 cents to $5.596/gal for the week of May 18. At the stated 6.5 mpg reference, the index runs 86.1 cents a mile and the week's drop trims about $3.31 from the fuel cost of a 500-mile haul. The index remains 46% above its 5-year median for this calendar week.
- Cost per mile
- Rocky Mountain (PADD 4), $5.549/gal, up 1% on the week: the one region in the EIA survey to move against the national trend.
- Midwest (PADD 2), $5.749/gal, down 1%: running 53% above its 5-year median, the widest vs-normal gap of any surveyed region, with spring planting season as the farm diesel demand backdrop.
- California at $7.222/gal (down 1%, 46% above its 5-year median) anchors the West Coast (PADD 5), which as a whole lands at $6.524/gal, off 1% and 44% above its 5-year median.
- Gulf Coast (PADD 3), $5.122/gal, down 1%: the low-cost anchor of the map, 45% above its own 5-year median.
- West-vs-Gulf gap at 140.2 cents/gal: the West Coast (PADD 5) at $6.524/gal over the Gulf Coast (PADD 3) at $5.122/gal, a standing structural spread.
Gulf Coast ULSD spot (EIA daily, untaxed bulk wholesale) settled at $3.916/gal on May 18. New York Harbor ULSD spot settled at $4.151/gal on the same date. The US retail pump sits $1.680/gal over Gulf Coast spot. That spread includes fuel taxes and the full retail distribution layer, making it a hub-to-pump proxy rather than a station margin.