U.S. diesel averages $6.06 a gallon for the first time on record

The American Automobile Association recorded a U.S. average diesel price of $6.0556 a gallon on Friday, 11 September, the first time the national figure has crossed $6. Thursday's average was $5.9773. A week earlier it was $5.85. A month earlier it was $5.3213. A year earlier it was $3.7053. That is a rise of about 63 percent in twelve months.

GasBuddy's Patrick De Haan said the $6 mark is a record the economy will feel in cargo, deliveries and shelf prices, not only at truck stops. Regular gasoline, by comparison, stood near $4.29, up 15 cents on the week. In California diesel was close to $8. Florida's state average hit $6.06.

Why diesel moves more than petrol

Diesel powers long-haul trucks, farm equipment, construction plant and freight rail. A typical tractor tank holds 200 to 300 gallons and is filled every one to three days. Loaded semis run about 6.5 to 7.5 miles per gallon. At Friday's Florida price, filling a 300-gallon tank costs more than $1,800, against about $1,000 a year ago.

Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union, told the USA TODAY Network that $6 diesel will show up in grocery aisles. KPMG's Diane Swonk put it more flatly: the cost of diesel gets into just about everything.

The Energy Information Administration says U.S. distillate inventories, the category that includes diesel, have already fallen below their normal five-year range. The agency's latest outlook expects stocks to drop below 100 million barrels in September and to stay under the five-year low through the end of 2026 and much of 2027.

The war premium

Brent crude has been above $100, and in recent days above $105 after Houthi forces took more of the Red Sea coast and Saudi Arabia shut the East-West pipeline following drone strikes from Iraq. The United States is also in an open war with Iran that has squeezed Gulf exports. De Haan had warned earlier in the week that Ukrainian strikes on Russian refining kit could push U.S. diesel through $6 if more capacity went offline.

Wholesale prices in the United States rose 0.4 percent from July to August after 0.1 percent the month before. Consumer inflation for August printed at 3.4 percent. Diesel is now a separate inflation channel from the gasoline price that voters watch on highway signs. It feeds food distribution, building materials and farm output heading into the autumn harvest.

The White House has said pump prices will fall when the Iran war ends, a timeline President Trump has tied to the period after November's elections. Until then the recorded number is the AAA average: $6.0556, a figure diesel in America had never printed before Friday.