A rise of 6.5 cents in the national average diesel price has pushed the main fuel for trucking above the $4 threshold again, landing it just 3.7 cents short of where it stood a year ago.
Currently, the national average stands at $4.061 per gallon. Price increases were observed in nine out of the 10 regions monitored by the Energy Information Administration, with New England being the exception where prices remained unchanged. The hikes varied from a minimal one-tenth of a cent in the Central Atlantic area to a significant 11 cents in the West Coast excluding California. Notably, in three regions, diesel prices now exceed those of a year ago:
In California, diesel saw a rise of 3.8 cents, reaching $5.259 per gallon, marking an increase of 27 cents compared to the previous year. In the Midwest, diesel prices increased by 6.2 cents, hitting $4.011 per gallon, which is 4.3 cents higher than last year. On the West Coast, diesel experienced a hike of 7.2 cents, reaching $4.723 per gallon, representing a 2.4-cent increase compared to the previous year. Meanwhile, the national average gasoline price also surged, climbing by 7.4 cents to $3.591 per gallon. This is merely half a cent less than the cost at the same time in 2023.
