Diesel Just Hit a Record High. Here’s Why It’s Worth Watching If You’re Owed Money
On September 23, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry declared a state of emergency over diesel prices. The order puts the state's average retail price at $6.03 a gallon, an all-time high and more than 80% above where it stood a year earlier, just as the fall harvest gets underway.
The relief is narrow and practical. Farmers and loggers often keep tax-exempt, red-dyed diesel on site for off-road equipment such as tractors, skidders and pumps. Putting that fuel in a highway truck is normally illegal in Louisiana, with fines starting at $1,000 or $10 a gallon, whichever is greater. Under the order, those penalties are suspended through October 22 for farm and timber trucks, so growers and loggers can use fuel they already have instead of buying at the pump. The state's Department of Revenue was also directed to ask the IRS for matching federal relief.
"We're not going to sit on the sidelines while Louisiana farmers are paying record prices to harvest the crops that feed our families and support our economy," Landry said.
Louisiana's order is one state's response. The price pressure behind it is national, and it is worth understanding if your business extends credit to other businesses.
A National Picture, Not a Local One
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), the national average price of on-highway diesel was $6.529 a gallon on September 21, up $2.78 from a year earlier. On September 18, EIA noted that prices had already reached the highest level it has recorded since it began publishing the series in 1994 (in nominal terms, not adjusted for inflation).
EIA's September Short-Term Energy Outlook points to supply as the main driver. Global production of distillate fuel, the category that includes diesel, is running below last year's levels, and tight international markets have encouraged U.S. exporters to ship more abroad. EIA expects U.S. distillate inventories to fall below 100 million barrels this month and to stay below their five-year low through much of 2027.
There is another side to the forecast. EIA expects the average retail diesel price to come down next year, to about $4.40 a gallon in 2027 compared with about $5.07 for 2026 as a whole. Forecasts change, and no one knows exactly how quickly prices will ease, which is why this is something to watch rather than something to react to.
Diesel at a glance
A year of U.S. diesel prices
Average U.S. retail price of on-highway diesel, dollars per gallon, weekly from September 22, 2025 to September 21, 2026.
U.S. average, week of Sep 21
$6.53
+$2.78 from a year earlier
Louisiana average
$6.03
An all-time high, per the state’s Sep 23 order
U.S. distillate stocks
<100M bbl
EIA’s expectation for September
EIA forecast, 2027 average
$4.40
Down from about $5.07 for 2026
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, weekly U.S. No. 2 diesel retail prices and the September 2026 Short-Term Energy Outlook. Louisiana figure from Executive Order JML 26-090. Prices are not adjusted for inflation.
View the weekly data
| Week of | Price per gallon |
|---|---|
| Sep 21, 2026 | $6.529 |
| Sep 14, 2026 | $6.285 |
| Sep 7, 2026 | $5.967 |
| Aug 31, 2026 | $5.599 |
| Aug 24, 2026 | $5.652 |
| Aug 17, 2026 | $5.454 |
| Aug 10, 2026 | $5.257 |
| Aug 3, 2026 | $5.348 |
| Jul 27, 2026 | $5.313 |
| Jul 20, 2026 | $5.134 |
| Jul 13, 2026 | $4.796 |
| Jul 6, 2026 | $4.578 |
| Jun 29, 2026 | $4.668 |
| Jun 22, 2026 | $4.832 |
| Jun 15, 2026 | $5.059 |
| Jun 8, 2026 | $5.210 |
| Jun 1, 2026 | $5.350 |
| May 25, 2026 | $5.523 |
| May 18, 2026 | $5.596 |
| May 11, 2026 | $5.639 |
| May 4, 2026 | $5.640 |
| Apr 27, 2026 | $5.351 |
| Apr 20, 2026 | $5.403 |
| Apr 13, 2026 | $5.608 |
| Apr 6, 2026 | $5.643 |
| Mar 30, 2026 | $5.401 |
| Mar 23, 2026 | $5.375 |
| Mar 16, 2026 | $5.071 |
| Mar 9, 2026 | $4.859 |
| Mar 2, 2026 | $3.897 |
| Feb 23, 2026 | $3.809 |
| Feb 16, 2026 | $3.711 |
| Feb 9, 2026 | $3.688 |
| Feb 2, 2026 | $3.681 |
| Jan 26, 2026 | $3.624 |
| Jan 19, 2026 | $3.530 |
| Jan 12, 2026 | $3.459 |
| Jan 5, 2026 | $3.477 |
| Dec 29, 2025 | $3.500 |
| Dec 22, 2025 | $3.544 |
| Dec 15, 2025 | $3.607 |
| Dec 8, 2025 | $3.665 |
| Dec 1, 2025 | $3.758 |
| Nov 24, 2025 | $3.831 |
| Nov 17, 2025 | $3.868 |
| Nov 10, 2025 | $3.837 |
| Nov 3, 2025 | $3.753 |
| Oct 27, 2025 | $3.718 |
| Oct 20, 2025 | $3.620 |
| Oct 13, 2025 | $3.665 |
| Oct 6, 2025 | $3.711 |
| Sep 29, 2025 | $3.754 |
| Sep 22, 2025 | $3.749 |
Why Diesel Reaches Further Than the Pump
Most freight in the U.S. moves by truck or rail, and both run largely on diesel. That is why a change in its price tends to show up well beyond the fuel station.
Trucking. The American Transportation Research Institute's latest cost study found that operating a truck cost an average of $2.336 per mile in 2025, of which roughly $0.48 was fuel. Operating margins for truckload and refrigerated carriers were below 1%, and those figures predate this year's price run-up. Many carriers recover fuel costs through surcharges, but surcharges that reset monthly or quarterly can lag behind fast price moves, leaving the carrier to cover the difference in the meantime.
Agriculture. Harvest means long hours of equipment use, then hauling crops to elevators, processors and ports. USDA projects farm fuel and oil expenses of about $22 billion in 2026, nearly $5 billion more than in 2025, and the increase lands at the busiest time of the farm year.
Everyone who depends on them. Freight costs feed into what distributors, manufacturers, contractors and retailers pay to move goods and materials. Some of that is passed on to customers and some is absorbed. Either way, it can change how much cash a business has on hand in a given month.
What This Can Mean for Your Receivables
Higher fuel costs do not mean a customer is unwilling to pay. More often, they change the timing: cash that would have gone to suppliers goes into fuel first, and invoices wait a little longer.
If you sell to trucking companies, freight brokers, farms, timber operations, distributors or contractors, a few patterns are worth noticing early:
payments arriving later than a customer's usual rhythm
partial payments, or requests to extend terms
questions or disputes about fuel surcharges or line items that were not an issue before
slower replies from an accounts payable contact who used to answer promptly
None of these is a reason for alarm on its own. They are a reason to stay in contact, keep documentation current (signed agreements, delivery confirmations, invoices and correspondence), and address a past-due balance while it is still recent. Accounts are generally easier to resolve when the conversation starts early and stays professional.
What to Monitor From Here
EIA's weekly diesel prices, published on Mondays, for the national and regional trend.
EIA's monthly Short-Term Energy Outlook, for inventory levels and the price forecast.
State and federal relief measures. Louisiana's order runs through October 22, and the IRS response to the state's request is still pending. Other states may take similar steps as the harvest continues.
Your own aging report, by customer industry. If 60- and 90-day balances start to build among fuel-dependent customers, that is useful to know early.
Diesel prices may ease as EIA expects, or they may stay elevated longer. Either way, it is a situation worth monitoring closely.
If you have a past-due commercial account you'd like reviewed, in Louisiana or anywhere in the U.S., contact us for a free case review.