The national average price of on-highway diesel rose 19.8 cents during the week ending Aug. 24 to $5.65 per gallon, a new high for 2026, according to Energy Information Administration figures reported by Overdrive. The move followed a 19.7-cent increase the week before. The previous peak this year came during the March and April run-up, when the average topped out at $5.64.
Every region now sits above the $5 per gallon mark. California averaged $7.04, the highest in the country. The Lower Atlantic region held the cheapest fuel at $5.35. Other regional averages included New England at $5.72, the Central Atlantic at $5.84, the Midwest at $5.64, the Gulf Coast at $5.48, the Rocky Mountain region at $5.54 and the West Coast excluding California at $5.86. ProMiles reported a national average of $5.51 for the same week, up 15.8 cents.
Spot market rates moved the other way. FTR Transportation Intelligence and Truckstop.com reported the total broker-posted rate fell 2.7 cents per mile during the week ending Aug. 21 to $3.17, the lowest reading since early April. The decline tracked normal late-summer seasonality. By segment, dry van slipped 2 cents to $2.60, flatbed dropped just over 4 cents to $3.30 and reefer edged up 1.3 cents to $3.31. DAT Freight and Analytics also recorded declines across all three equipment types.
FTR and Truckstop noted that fuel-adjusted spot rates ran 37 percent above year-ago levels in the most recent week, the narrowest gap since the end of April. During the six-week climb in diesel prices, that measure had generally held 40 to 50 percent above comparable 2025 weeks.
Source: Overdrive - https://www.overdriveonline.com/business/article/15833436/diesel-prices-surge-to-new-2026-high