Diesel Fuel Price This Week
TruckMars Editorial · October 20, 2026
This week's number
The U.S. Energy Information Administration's weekly survey put the national average on-highway diesel price at $6.276 per gallon for the week of October 19, 2026, up from $6.179 the prior week. The EIA publishes this figure every Monday, and it's the standard reference number for fuel surcharge formulas across the industry. This page gets refreshed periodically, not live, so check the EIA's own site for the current week if you're reading this later in the cycle.
Why the national average isn't your number
The EIA average blends every region, and regional prices can run well above or below it depending on state fuel taxes, refinery proximity, and local supply. The number that actually matters for your bottom line is the price you're paying at the pumps you actually use, not the national headline figure.
Turning a diesel price into a fuel surcharge
Most fuel surcharge formulas work off a baseline diesel price (often $1.25 to $1.50 per gallon, set in the contract) and add a surcharge per mile for every cent above that baseline, scaled to your truck's expected fuel economy. Run the current price through the [Fuel Surcharge Calculator](/fuel-surcharge-calculator) to see what you should be charging at today's rate.
What a diesel spike actually costs you per mile
A truck averaging 6.5 miles per gallon burns roughly 0.154 gallons per mile, so every $0.50 increase in diesel price adds about $0.077 to your true cost per mile before any surcharge offsets it. Run your own fuel economy and this week's price through the [Fuel Cost Calculator](/fuel-cost-calculator) and [Cost Per Mile Calculator](/cost-per-mile-calculator) to see the real impact on your specific truck.
Tracking the trend, not just the snapshot
A single week's price matters less than the direction it's moving. If diesel has been climbing for several weeks straight, it's worth renegotiating any fuel surcharge language that's lagging the current market before it costs you real margin on every load.