Playbook: Fuel Game Plan

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.

The consecutive week streak of declines in the benchmark retail diesel price is now eight, but market conditions are suggesting it might be a challenge to reach nine. The Department of Energy/Energy Information Administration average weekly retail diesel price declined 1.8 cents/gallon in the price published Tuesday, effective Monday. The latest price is $3.459/g.  It’s […]

The key diesel benchmark fell again, but broader markets barely reacted to the Venezuelan news.

The latest benchmark diesel price closed out 2025 pretty much where it finished up 2024.

Another decline in the benchmark price of diesel has sent that number down by the biggest amount in a five-week period in two years..

The benchmark used for most fuel surcharges fell for the fourth consecutive week.

The benchmark diesel price used for most fuel surcharges has plummeted over the last two weeks.

The benchmark diesel price used for most fuel surcharges is down 11 cents/gallon in two weeks.