DOE Diesel at $6.529, Fuel Cost Tops $1.00 a Mile

The DOE number climbed 24.4 cents to $6.529/gal for the week of September 21, per EIA's weekly on-highway diesel survey. At the stated 6.5 mpg reference, that is 100.4 cents a mile and adds $18.77 to the fuel bill on a 500-mile haul. The index sits 74% above the five-year median for this calendar week.

• Midwest (PADD 2): $6.680/gal, up 7% week over week from the prior week and 79% above the five-year median. The largest regional gain in EIA's September 21 survey.
• Crude benchmarks: Brent (Europe spot) came in at $130.80/bbl as of September 15, up 23% week over week and 75% above the five-year median per EIA's daily spot series. WTI (Cushing spot) reached $107.02/bbl, up 14% on the week and 47% above the five-year median. Crude is roughly half the cost of a gallon at the pump, and a crude move of this size reaches retail with a lag of days to weeks. AAA Oregon/Idaho spokesperson Marie Dodds, in a September 15 statement, attributed the crude run-up to attacks on Saudi energy infrastructure and disruptions to Red Sea and Strait of Hormuz shipping lanes.
• Rocky Mountain (PADD 4): $6.340/gal, up 5% on the week, 69% above the five-year median.
• West Coast (PADD 5): $7.456/gal, running 127.9 cents/gal above the Gulf Coast (PADD 3) at $6.177/gal. California sits at $8.246/gal, 65% above its five-year median.
• Gulf Coast (PADD 3): $6.177/gal, 82% above the five-year median, the highest relative premium of any region in EIA's September 21 survey.

Wholesale: EIA's daily ULSD spot series dated September 15 shows New York Harbor at $5.338/gal and the Gulf Coast at $5.206/gal. Both figures are untaxed bulk wholesale, not pump prices. The gap between those hub levels and the retail number includes fuel taxes and the full retail layer.

The survey week aligns with fall harvest season, a period of peak agricultural trucking demand.

Data note: ULSD spot and crude benchmark reads in this issue are dated September 15, six days before the retail survey week of September 21.