New England (PADD 1A) diesel price

Of the three East Coast subregions this site tracks, New England, PADD 1A, is the only one with no refineries of its own. Every gallon reaches the pump by tanker into Boston, Portland or Providence, or by pipeline and truck from terminals further south, which is why New England typically carries the largest premium of the three, running above both the wider East Coast figure and the national average.

New England also burns more heating oil than any other US region, and heating oil competes with diesel for the same distillate barrel, so a cold snap can tighten the region's diesel supply in a way the rest of the East Coast does not feel as sharply. Tanker schedules into the Northeast ports and the start of the winter heating season are what to watch.

New England is the end of every supply line rather than a point on one. No interstate products pipeline reaches past the New York area, so fuel arrives at deepwater terminals in Boston, Portland, Providence and New Haven and then moves inland by truck. That last leg is short in the coastal metro areas and long in northern New England, which is why the pump price spreads out across the six states more than it does in districts a pipeline crosses. What are PADDs explains why EIA reports this corner of the country as its own sub-district in the first place.

Because the region is supplied by ship, its price answers to the Atlantic cargo market as much as to the domestic one. Canadian, European and occasionally Gulf Coast cargoes compete for the same terminals, and the Jones Act requirement on domestic waterborne moves means a European barrel is often the cheaper option. Freight rates, not just refining margins, therefore show up in this number.

The cold is the other half of the story. New England leans on heating oil more heavily than any other region, and heating oil is the same distillate barrel as on-road diesel, so a cold snap pulls demand for both at once out of terminals that are already the furthest from any refinery. Winter-grade blending adds a second cost on top: fuel has to stay fluid at temperatures the Gulf Coast never sees, which means kerosene cutting or additive treatment before it goes in a tank.

The New England vs. the US average page tracks the size of that premium week to week.