Playbook: Fuel Game Plan

The benchmark price used for most fuel surcharges edged up slightly. 

The benchmark diesel price used for most surcharges has regained three weeks of declines.

The benchmark price of retail diesel fell for the third straight week.

The benchmark diesel price used for most fuel surcharges fell the most it has declined since 2022.

The benchmark diesel price used for most fuel surcharges fell for the first time after 12 weeks of increases.

The war with Iran moved diesel up nearly 50 percent in five weeks and analysts are modeling $6 and higher if the Strait of Hormuz stays disrupted into summer. Carriers are repricing surcharges, shippers are absorbing new fees and everyone is looking for relief. The biggest lever most fleets have on their fuel budget is not an aerodynamics package or a new engine spec. It is the driver.

The benchmark price used for most fuel surcharges rose for the 12th straight week.

Let’s start with what the numbers actually look like. On March 1, diesel was averaging roughly $3.90 per gallon nationally. By March 9, a single week produced a 96-cent spike — the largest one-week increase in diesel prices since the federal government began tracking the series. By mid-month it crossed $5. As of this week […]

The benchmark diesel price used for most fuel surcharges is up for the 10th straight week.

The benchmark used for most fuel surcharges is above $5/g for the first time in more than 3 years.

Diesel is approaching $5 a gallon and the geopolitical situation driving it is not showing signs of a quick resolution. You cannot control what crude does on the futures market. You cannot control what’s happening in the Strait of Hormuz. You cannot control whether the Federal Reserve pauses rate cuts or whether the broker on […]

The price used to set diesel surcharges gained more in a week than it ever has in its 30+ year history.

Diesel prices at both the retail level and in the futures market are soaring in the wake of the Middle East conflict.

The benchmark diesel price used for most fuel surcharges has risen for the 7th consecutive week.

The benchmark price used for most fuel surcharges rose for the fifth straight week.

When I was a teenager working at a Subway in Sumter, South Carolina, I used to get corrected for something that seemed small at the time. I would build a sandwich, stack it high, and make it look generous. My boss would walk by and say, “That’s too many tomato slices.” I didn’t understand it […]

The benchmark diesel price used for most fuel surcharges rose a small amount, the fourth straight increase.

The benchmark used for most fuel surcharges rose for the third straight week.

After a fourth quarter of mostly declines, the benchmark diesel price is climbing fast.

The benchmark diesel price used for most fuel surcharges rose for the first time in eight weeks.