Rear-quarter view of a flatbed trailer with a black tarped load and yellow straps

By the Connect Express Team, Glendale, AZ. Published October 21, 2026.

The national average price of on-highway diesel rose to $6.276 a gallon for the week of October 19, 2026, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s weekly Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Update, released Tuesday, October 20. That’s 9.7 cents higher than the week before ($6.179) and $2.656 above a year ago. It’s the first weekly increase after three straight declines from the record $6.529 set for the week of September 21, the highest weekly average in EIA’s weekly series, which goes back to 1994.

What the West Coast numbers show for Arizona

EIA doesn’t publish a weekly diesel price for Arizona alone. Arizona sits in PADD 5 (West Coast), along with Alaska, California, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon and Washington. For the week of October 19, EIA reported:

West Coast (PADD 5): $7.394 a gallon, up 15.4 cents from the week before and $2.973 above a year ago.
West Coast less California: $6.659, up 15.6 cents. This series peaked at $6.791 for the week of September 21.
California: $8.242, up 15.1 cents.

The week-over-week jump in the West was bigger than the 9.7-cent rise in the national average, so the gap between western and national prices got wider again.

EIA’s outlook

In its October Short-Term Energy Outlook (released October 6, with inputs finalized October 1), EIA said retail diesel averaged $6.29 a gallon in September. It forecast that retail diesel would stay above $6 in October, then come down gradually with crude oil prices and a slight recovery in inventories. EIA expects diesel to average about $4.50 a gallon in 2027 and to stay above $4 through 2027, because it expects distillate inventories to remain below their 2021 to 2025 average. EIA’s next outlook is due November 10.

What this means for Phoenix-area shippers and carriers

Fuel is usually priced into truckload freight through a fuel surcharge. EIA notes that it doesn’t calculate or regulate fuel surcharges: shippers and carriers negotiate them privately, and many use EIA’s weekly retail price in their formulas. So the first question for any Arizona shipper is which EIA series your contract or rate confirmation names. A surcharge tied to the U.S. average moved 9.7 cents this week; one tied to the West Coast or West Coast less California series moved more than 15 cents.

A few practical steps:

Ask whether a quote is all-in or linehaul plus a fuel surcharge, and which week’s EIA price it uses. Our guide to what to send for a dry van quote covers the other details that change a rate.
When you budget, remember that fuel is only one part of the rate. Our post on the factors affecting freight transportation rates explains the rest, including accessorials and lane demand.
If you run steady weekly volume, ask how fuel is handled in a contract rate for dedicated trucking lanes compared with spot quotes.
Track the EIA release each Tuesday (the price is as of Monday). The next one is due October 27.

Prices this high affect almost every lane out of the Valley, so Phoenix truckload shipping budgets for the fourth quarter should be based on current EIA numbers, not last year’s.

Connect Express runs truckload freight from our base in Glendale, AZ at 5701 W Maryland Ave, Glendale, AZ 85301. Questions about a quote or a fuel surcharge? Call 480-401-1998 or email admin@connectexpressllc.com.