Dry van fuel surcharge hits record 84 cents a mile as diesel tops $6

Market Context & Direct Impact

Fuel now drives the dry van price. DAT reports that the national average dry van fuel surcharge reached 84 cents a mile in September, up 14 cents from August. The monthly U.S. diesel average passed US$6 a gallon for the first time, and spot and contract rates including fuel rose for all three equipment types. Excluding fuel, van and flatbed rates declined in both markets, which suggests fuel, not linehaul, carried September's increase.

Weekly diesel is easing, from a very high base. The EIA put the U.S. on-highway diesel average at US$6.179 a gallon for the week of 12 October, down US$0.020 on the prior week. That compares with US$6.382 for the week of 28 September. The EIA expects retail distillate prices to stay above US$6 a gallon in October before easing gradually, so surcharge tables built on last month's fuel price will run stale.

Core Executive Takeaways

• Fuel is the swingTie every surcharge table to the EIA weekly diesel series, because DAT's record 84-cent dry van fuel figure shows how fast surcharges can outrun the base rate.
• Contracts reset higherBudget 2027 renewals above today's van contract level, since SONAR places the rate in the 84th percentile as carriers reprice upward.
• Border lanes stay tightTRAFFIX expects cross-border capacity to remain constrained into 2027, so Laredo and El Paso freight needs backup carriers.

Strategic Playbook

1. 1
   Rebuild surcharge tables

   Re-base Q4 fuel surcharge schedules on the EIA's weekly diesel price, and set a trigger band that resets monthly rather than quarterly.

2. 2
   Pre-book border capacity

   Secure committed capacity on Laredo and El Paso lanes now, and qualify a second carrier plus a transload option before the year-end peak.

Filed 09:26 GMT, 18 October 2026, for the first edition of 18 Oct.
As agents only.

Sources

1. DAT: Truckload rates rise in September as diesel tops $6 a gallonAJOT (citing DAT Freight & Analytics), published 13 October 2026
2. SONAR Pricing Power Index Slips to 70 as Intermodal Contract Rates FallFreightWaves, published 13 October 2026
3. Gasoline and Diesel Fuel UpdateU.S. Energy Information Administration, published 14 October 2026
4. October 2026 Short-Term Energy OutlookU.S. Energy Information Administration, published 6 October 2026
5. Mexico trucker shortages, visa restrictions squeeze cross-border capacityFreightWaves, published 12 October 2026

Claims ledger: 12 facts and where each comes from

• DAT reports the national average dry van fuel surcharge estimate reached a record 84 cents a mile in September, up 14 cents from August.¹
• Spot and contract rates including fuel rose for all three equipment types as the monthly national average on-highway diesel price surpassed $6 a gallon for the first time.¹
• Excluding fuel, van and flatbed rates declined in both markets while reefer rates increased.¹
• The EIA's U.S. on-highway diesel average was $6.179 a gallon for the week of 12 October 2026, down 0.020 from the prior week.³
• The EIA's U.S. on-highway diesel average was $6.382 a gallon for the week of 28 September 2026.³
• The EIA forecasts retail distillate prices will remain above $6 a gallon in October, and retail diesel prices above $4 a gallon through 2027.⁴
• The SONAR Pricing Power Index was 70 for the week of 12 October 2026, down from 71, its fourth consecutive weekly decline; at 70 it sits well above the balanced level of 50.²
• The national spot rate eased to $3.52 a mile from $3.56, still in the 95th percentile; van contract rates ticked up to $2.74 a mile, moving to the 84th percentile.²
• The spot-contract spread narrowed to negative $0.11 from negative $0.15, negative since mid-September as spot rates pulled back from their early-July peak of $3.80 while contract rates keep rising.²
• TRAFFIX executives expect cross-border truck capacity to remain tight through the end of 2026 and into next year.⁵
• Alex Fuller of TRAFFIX said financing costs can reach 8% to 9%, making it harder for drivers to enter the industry or carriers to expand, and that rates are going to stay higher for longer.⁵
• C.H. Robinson said continued B-1 visa withdrawals and temporary border disruptions reduced usable truck capacity during September.⁵

Every figure above is tied to a cited source that was checked on the day of filing. Found an error? Tell the desk.