{"id":1242,"date":"2026-08-24T10:59:03","date_gmt":"2026-08-24T10:59:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/simpleseogroup.co\/capitalDepot\/?p=1242"},"modified":"2026-10-13T13:36:26","modified_gmt":"2026-10-13T13:36:26","slug":"august-2026-diesel-prices-and-their-effect-on-trucking-costs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/simpleseogroup.co\/capitalDepot\/august-2026-diesel-prices-and-their-effect-on-trucking-costs\/","title":{"rendered":"August 2026 Diesel Prices and Their Effect on Trucking Costs"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"lead\" class=\"lead\">This article records EIA diesel prices reported during August 2026. It should not be used as a current fuel quote after publication.<\/div>\n<div id=\"body\">\n<div class=\"rate-bullets\" >\n<h2>How diesel moved during August<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>August 3: $5.348 per gallon<\/li>\n<li>August 10: $5.257 per gallon<\/li>\n<li>August 17: $5.454 per gallon<\/li>\n<li>August 24: $5.652 per gallon<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The price moved in both directions during the month, then finished the latest reported week 30.4 cents above August 3.<\/p>\n<h2>Where the month stood by region<\/h2>\n<p>On August 24, the Gulf Coast averaged $5.481, the Midwest averaged $5.636, the East Coast averaged $5.498, and the West Coast averaged $6.407. California averaged $7.040.<\/p>\n<h2>What this meant per mile<\/h2>\n<p>At 6.5 miles per gallon, a $5.652 diesel price equals about 87 cents per mile before discounts, idle fuel, reefer fuel, IFTA adjustments, and fuel-surcharge recovery.<\/p>\n<h2>What to check before pricing a load<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Your actual miles per gallon<\/li>\n<li>Fuel price along the route<\/li>\n<li>Loaded and empty miles<\/li>\n<li>Fuel-card discount<\/li>\n<li>Fuel-surcharge method and payment timing<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"key\">The August national average was a dated benchmark. The number that matters on a load is your actual fuel cost for that route.<\/div>\n<h2>Turn pump price into fuel cost per mile<\/h2>\n<p>Divide the price per gallon by the truck&#8217;s actual miles per gallon. Using the August 24 national average of $5.652:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>At 6.0 mpg, fuel cost was about 94 cents per mile.<\/li>\n<li>At 6.5 mpg, fuel cost was about 87 cents per mile.<\/li>\n<li>At 7.0 mpg, fuel cost was about 81 cents per mile.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>This quick calculation does not include idle fuel, reefer fuel, fuel-tax reconciliation, discounts, or surcharge recovery.<\/p>\n<h2>Estimate the fuel needed for a load<\/h2>\n<ol>\n<li>Add the miles to pickup, loaded miles, and expected repositioning miles.<\/li>\n<li>Divide total miles by the truck&#8217;s actual mpg.<\/li>\n<li>Multiply the gallons by the expected net pump price after discount.<\/li>\n<li>Compare that cash requirement with the fuel surcharge and the timing of customer payment.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h2>Ways to control the cost<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Use a fuel network without taking an expensive detour.<\/li>\n<li>Reduce unnecessary idle time.<\/li>\n<li>Maintain tire pressure and address engine problems that reduce mpg.<\/li>\n<li>Track fuel by truck and driver instead of relying only on a fleet average.<\/li>\n<li>Update the load-pricing estimate whenever fuel moves materially.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Archive notice<\/h2>\n<p>This article uses EIA data available through August 24, 2026. Readers should check the latest EIA release before making current fuel or pricing decisions.<\/p>\n<h2>How Capital Depot can help<\/h2>\n<p>A fuel card and freight factoring may help approved carriers manage fuel costs and the wait between delivering a load and receiving customer payment. Capital Depot can help you review the options.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"download\"><a class=\"source-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.eia.gov\/petroleum\/gasdiesel\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Original source: https:\/\/www.eia.gov\/petroleum\/gasdiesel\/<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"insight-contact\">\n<div class=\"insight-contact-main\">\n<p>Have questions about what this means for your trucking business? Call Capital Depot and let us help.<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"insight-call site-btn yellow-btn \" href=\"tel:+18474701687\" aria-label=\"Call Capital Depot at 847-470-1687\"><br \/>\n            <svg class=\"insight-call-phone\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n              <path d=\"M6.6 10.8c1.8 3.5 3.1 4.8 6.6 6.6l2.2-2.2c.3-.3.7-.4 1.1-.3 1.2.4 2.5.6 3.8.6.6 0 1 .4 1 1V20c0 .6-.4 1-1 1C10.8 21 3 13.2 3 3.7c0-.6.4-1 1-1h3.5c.6 0 1 .4 1 1 0 1.3.2 2.6.6 3.8.1.4 0 .8-.3 1.1l-2.2 2.2z\"><\/path>\n            <\/svg><br \/>\n            <span class=\"a\">CONTACT US<\/span><br \/>\n          <\/a>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The national on-highway diesel average rose from $5.348 on August 3 to $5.652 on August 24, an increase of 30.4 cents during the reported period.<\/p>\n<p> <a href=\"https:\/\/simpleseogroup.co\/capitalDepot\/august-2026-diesel-prices-and-their-effect-on-trucking-costs\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1244,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[24],"class_list":["post-1242","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-insights","tag-august-2026-fuel-review"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/simpleseogroup.co\/capitalDepot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1242","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/simpleseogroup.co\/capitalDepot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/simpleseogroup.co\/capitalDepot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/simpleseogroup.co\/capitalDepot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/simpleseogroup.co\/capitalDepot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1242"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/simpleseogroup.co\/capitalDepot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1242\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1289,"href":"https:\/\/simpleseogroup.co\/capitalDepot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1242\/revisions\/1289"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/simpleseogroup.co\/capitalDepot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1244"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/simpleseogroup.co\/capitalDepot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1242"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/simpleseogroup.co\/capitalDepot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1242"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/simpleseogroup.co\/capitalDepot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1242"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}