If you move freight for a living — or pay someone to move it for you — you already felt this one at the pump.
In the first week of September 2026, the national average price of on-highway diesel jumped nearly 37 cents in a single week to $5.97 per gallon, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). That's a new record, topping the previous high of $5.81 set back in June 2022. A year ago, diesel was almost $1.87 cheaper per gallon. Eighteen months ago, before the conflict in the Middle East disrupted global oil markets, it was under $3.80.
At DPN Logistics, we run a drayage fleet out of the Port of Virginia every day, so this isn't an abstract chart for us. Here's what record diesel actually means for shippers, for drivers, and for freight rates heading into Q4.
Where Diesel Prices Stand Right Now (September 2026)
A few numbers worth knowing, all from the EIA's weekly survey for the week ending September 7, 2026:
- National average: $5.97 per gallon — a record nominal high
- California: $7.76 per gallon, the highest in the country
- West Coast: $6.99 per gallon
- East Coast: $5.74 per gallon
- Lower Atlantic (including Virginia): $5.61 per gallon — the lowest regional average in the U.S.
Two takeaways. First, diesel is on pace to set a record annual average for 2026, not just a weekly one. Second, if your freight moves through the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast, you're in the least-bad region in the country. Fueling out of Hampton Roads instead of the West Coast is worth more than a dollar per gallon right now — a real, structural cost advantage for cargo routed through the Port of Virginia.
What Record Diesel Means for Shippers
Fuel surcharges are climbing — and they're not padding
Most carriers, including us, tie fuel surcharges directly to the EIA weekly index. When the index jumps 37 cents in a week, the surcharge follows automatically. That's the system working as designed: it keeps base rates stable instead of forcing carriers to reprice every lane every month. If your surcharge schedule hasn't moved since spring, ask your carrier what index they're using — because somebody is absorbing that gap, and it's probably showing up somewhere else in your service.
Fuel is compounding through the supply chain
Diesel doesn't just power the truck that delivers your container. It powers the ships, the trains, the yard equipment, and the reefer units keeping cold freight cold. Refrigerated and time-sensitive freight feels it first. Major retailers have already responded — Amazon added a fuel and logistics surcharge on third-party sellers earlier this year, and grocery categories with heavy transport exposure (seafood, fresh produce) are seeing above-average price inflation.
Carrier financial health matters more than ever
Fuel is one of the largest line items in any trucking operation. Carriers running thin margins with no fuel program, no surcharge discipline, and aging equipment are the ones that disappear mid-contract when diesel spikes. When you vet a carrier in this market, you're not just buying a rate — you're buying the odds that the truck still shows up in November.
What Record Diesel Means for Drivers
Owner-operators are getting squeezed hardest
A single truck burning roughly 1,600–2,000 gallons a month is paying $3,000+ more for fuel every month than a year ago. If an owner-operator's rate didn't move but the surcharge did, the surcharge is the only thing keeping the truck running. Drivers hauling for brokers who skim or flat-rate the fuel surcharge are effectively taking a pay cut every week the index climbs.
Fuel discipline is now a survival skill
Route planning around fuel networks, minimizing out-of-route miles, managing idle time, and keeping tires and aftertreatment systems healthy aren't nice-to-haves at $5.97 a gallon. The difference between 6.0 and 7.0 mpg on a fleet truck is now worth roughly $140 per 1,000 miles.
Short-haul and drayage have a structural edge
Port drayage turns — short, repeatable moves between terminal and warehouse — burn far fewer gallons per load than long-haul lanes. In a record fuel market, freight that can stay regional keeps more of the rate on the truck and with the driver.
Why the Port of Virginia Angle Matters
Our fleet is based eight minutes from the Port of Virginia. In this fuel environment, that proximity is a pricing weapon:
- Lowest regional diesel in the country. The Lower Atlantic is averaging about 36 cents under the national number and more than $2 under California.
- Short drayage legs. Less deadhead, fewer gallons per container, tighter surcharges.
- Rail-served intermodal options. For inland moves, rail plus regional drayage burns less diesel per container-mile than pure over-the-road — and in 2026, gallons are the whole game.
Shippers comparing East Coast versus West Coast routings should be putting fuel geography into that math right now, not just ocean rates and transit days.
Where Prices Go From Here
Nobody has a crystal ball, but the EIA's September outlook expects Brent crude to average around $90 per barrel through the back half of 2026, easing toward the mid-$70s in 2027 as production rises and inventories rebuild. Translation: relief is more likely a 2027 story than a Q4 2026 story. Plan your freight budgets — and your surcharge schedules — accordingly.
The Bottom Line
Record diesel isn't a reason to panic. It's a reason to get precise: index-based surcharges, fuel-efficient routing, regional drayage where it fits, and carriers healthy enough to still be here when the market turns.
If you're moving containers through the Port of Virginia and want a carrier that treats fuel like the line item it is, talk to us. DPN Logistics — intermodal drayage and 3PL warehousing, 8 minutes from the Port of Virginia. Call (757) 406-4613 or request a quote at dpncompanies.com.
Move freight through the Port of Virginia with DPN Logistics
Record diesel makes regional drayage and fuel-efficient routing more valuable than ever. We're based in Hampton Roads, eight minutes from the Port of Virginia, with short-haul drayage legs that keep gallons — and costs — under control.
Sources
U.S. Energy Information Administration weekly retail fuel prices (week ending September 7, 2026); EIA Short-Term Energy Outlook, September 2026; Forbes analysis of 2026 diesel price records. Prices cited are national and regional averages and change weekly.