Pain at the Pump: Diesel Prices Now Nearing the Highs of 2014

Trucking companies are paying substantially more at the pump as diesel prices continue to tick upward, driven largely by spiraling crude oil costs.

The average price for a gallon of on-highway diesel fuel currently stands at $3.78 per gallon, an increase of more than 5 cents in the past week, according to the federal Energy Information Administration (EIA) weekly tally. That’s the highest it’s been since 2014, when prices soared to $4.02 per gallon. But even that pales in comparison to the price surge of 2008, when costs peaked at $4.69 a gallon, the highest amount charted since at least 1994.

Much of this increase is attributable to a recent spike in crude oil prices, with a barrel going for $75.21 in December 2021, a far cry from the start of that year, when it was only $75.21 a barrel.

Regionally, California trucking companies continue to pay the most for a gallon of diesel fuel, with prices hitting $4.82 last week. Prices in other West Coast states were a fair bit lower — $4.49 a gallon — while on the opposite end of the spectrum, Gulf Coast states enjoyed the lowest prices nationally: $3.53 per gallon. But “enjoyed” is relative, since their prices climbed nearly 7 cents over the past week.

The EIA is predicting that this surge in on-road diesel fuel prices will eventually peter out; unfortunately, that isn’t expected to happen until 2023. In its latest Short-Term Energy Outlook, the EIA estimates that diesel prices for 2022 will average $3.33 a gallon — substantially lower than the current price — but still over the 2021 average of $3.28 per gallon. Prices will fall again in 2023 — with an estimated annual average 1 cent less than for 2021 —driven by lower demand and increased crude oil production.