Why Diesel Prices Are Crushing Trucking Profits

In late September, the U.S. average price of diesel hit $6.53 a gallon, the highest EIA has published since it started in 1994, before adjusting for inflation. Here's what happened, why diesel got hit harder than gas, why a fuel spike can wipe out a trucking company's thin profit, the catch in fuel surcharges, who gets hit hardest, and what it means if you're driving. Chapters 0:00 One fill-up 1:03 Exit 1 · What happened to diesel 2:29 Exit 2 · Why diesel got hit harder than gas 3:48 Exit 3 · Why fuel hits trucking so hard 5:11 Exit 4 · The fuel surcharge has a catch 6:29 Exit 5 · Why small fleets get hit hardest 7:29 Exit 6 · What it means if you're driving 8:33 Closing Prices are U.S. averages from EIA, each dated on screen. The 300-gallon fill-up (two 150-gallon tanks) is an example, and the per-mile fuel figures are our estimate from ATRI and EIA data. Sources for every number are in the pinned comment. General information, not legal or financial advice. Narration: AI-generated voice (ElevenLabs). Music: original composition. FOOTAGE & PHOTO CREDITS (via Wikimedia Commons) All cropped, resized, color-adjusted and animated; some with text/graphics added; carrier names, logos and truck, container and plate numbers blurred. "Title" by Creator - source. CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...) • "US-MO - Emma - North America - Trucks - Road Trip - Missouri - Midwest" by CGP Grey - commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=37262485 • "Trucking semi truck under overpass" by Chris Yarzab - commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=109609125 • "2020 International Lone Star Semi Tractor" by Greg Gjerdingen - commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=109609083 • "Interstate 80 West bount, Dugway - Utah" by Janusz Sobolewski - commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=180741127 • "Face. Horse head on pumpjack. - Flickr - Night Photo" by Maxx@night - commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=139493702 • "Speed limit increases in Oregon 12" by Oregon Department of Transportation - commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=47372515 • "Gas Prices on June 5, 2022 in Eugene, Oregon" by Rick Obst - commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=189334744 • "Products tanker Jo Kashi" by Roy Luck - commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=18972812 • "Peterbilt" by Solar Guard Exclusive Truck Parts - commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=110938189 • By Tony Webster: "20,000-gallon Fuel Tanks" - commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=65957470 "Certified Clean Idle Semi Truck Sticker - Volvo" - commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=72162232 "Pilot Flying J Travel Plaza - Unleaded and Diesel Gas Prices Sign" - commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=67372959 "St. Paul Park Refinery on the Mississippi River - Marathon Petro" - commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=69673144 "Yellow Gas Pump - E86 and 86 Eco Unleaded" - commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=167019401 CC BY 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...) • "COFC greenshipping container on semi truck - I-5 Southbound 2025" by Ewkada - commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=158120128 • "40 foot container double semi truck" by Joseph Madden (Joedamadman); crop by Wikideas1 - commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=54061995 CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...) • "Semi-truck heading west under Canton Viaduct August 2026" by 4300streetcar - commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=197286521 • "Congested traffic on the Dan Ryan Expy (10x timelapse) - April 2026" (video) by AlphaBeta135 - commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=187908737 • By Ewkada: "Interstate Trans LLC - Volvo Semi-trailer truck & work van - I-90 Spokane, WA" - commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=149664882 "May Trucking Company - Freightliner with refrigerated semi-trailer, I-90 Spokane, WA" - commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=151968236 "Volvo flatbed truck hauling scissor lifts on Interstate 90 in Spokane, WA" - commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=149782591 "Xtractor Logistics Ltd. - Freightliner Semi-trailer truck - I-5 Whatcom County" - commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=149835782 • "Liberty Gas Station 5001 Bradley Blvd Bethesda MD 2021-12-12 09-53-12 1" by G. Edward Johnson - commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=113900182 • "Fuel pumps at a Pilot Flying J gas station in Cleveland, Tennessee" by Harrison Keely - commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=175777964 • "Bayway Refinery, New Jersey" by Quintin Soloviev - commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=184160806 Also used (public domain or CC0, no attribution required): photos/video by Hermann Luyken, Mjrmtg, David Fine, Eric Kounce TexasRaiser and NASA.