U.S. FRIX diesel price (dollars per gallon)
Week of 10/12/26 – 10/16/26 · weekly average of daily settlements
| 10/2/26 | 10/9/26 | 10/16/26 | Change from week ago |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FRIX | 5.517 | 5.449 | 5.651 | +0.202 |
| Surcharge (¢/mi) | 26 | 25 | 27 | — |
This week's average uses 4 of 5 trading days. Omitted (settlement unavailable): Wed 10/14.
FRIX trend (weekly average, $/gal)
Daily FRIX this week
Dollars per gallon · incomplete days shown as n/a
| Trading day | FRIX |
|---|---|
| Mon 10/12 | 5.541 |
| Tue 10/13 | 5.722 |
| Wed 10/14 | n/a |
| Thu 10/15 | 5.649 |
| Fri 10/16 | 5.695 |
About this release
- FRIX is a national diesel rack price index based on daily wholesale market settlements.
- The weekly value is the average of complete trading days (Monday–Friday) in the prior week. Incomplete days are omitted rather than estimated.
- Prices are shown in dollars per gallon. The weekly average is rounded to the nearest cent before the fuel-surcharge band is applied.
- The FTL fuel surcharge is expressed in cents per mile. Below $3.00/gal there is no surcharge. From $3.00–$3.10 the rate is 1¢/mi, then +1¢/mi for each additional 10¢ band. An exact band edge uses the lower band.
- This page is updated every Monday. Component contracts, weights, and the underlying formula are proprietary and are not published.
Weekly history
Most recent weeks · dollars per gallon and cents per mile
| Week ending | FRIX | Surcharge (¢/mi) | Days used |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10/16/26 | 5.651 | 27 | 4 (1 day omitted) |
| 10/9/26 | 5.449 | 25 | 5 |
| 10/2/26 | 5.517 | 26 | 5 |
| 9/25/26 | 5.631 | 27 | 5 |
| 9/18/26 | 5.869 | 29 | 5 |
| 9/11/26 | 5.729 | 28 | 3 (1 day omitted) |
| 9/4/26 | 5.381 | 24 | 5 |
| 8/28/26 | 5.025 | 21 | 5 |
| 8/21/26 | 5.145 | 22 | 5 |
| 8/14/26 | 4.987 | 20 | 5 |
| 8/7/26 | 4.609 | 17 | 5 |
| 7/31/26 | 4.784 | 18 | 5 |
FTL fuel surcharge schedule
Apply to the weekly FRIX average after rounding to the nearest cent. Current band highlighted for this week's 27¢/mi rate.
Show full cents-per-mile table ($3.00 through $8.00)
| FRIX ($/gal) | Surcharge |
|---|---|
| Below $3.00 | none |
| $3.00 – $3.10 | 1¢ |
| $3.11 – $3.20 | 2¢ |
| $3.21 – $3.30 | 3¢ |
| $3.31 – $3.40 | 4¢ |
| $3.41 – $3.50 | 5¢ |
| $3.51 – $3.60 | 6¢ |
| $3.61 – $3.70 | 7¢ |
| $3.71 – $3.80 | 8¢ |
| $3.81 – $3.90 | 9¢ |
| $3.91 – $4.00 | 10¢ |
| $4.01 – $4.10 | 11¢ |
| $4.11 – $4.20 | 12¢ |
| $4.21 – $4.30 | 13¢ |
| $4.31 – $4.40 | 14¢ |
| $4.41 – $4.50 | 15¢ |
| $4.51 – $4.60 | 16¢ |
| $4.61 – $4.70 | 17¢ |
| $4.71 – $4.80 | 18¢ |
| $4.81 – $4.90 | 19¢ |
| $4.91 – $5.00 | 20¢ |
| $5.01 – $5.10 | 21¢ |
| $5.11 – $5.20 | 22¢ |
| $5.21 – $5.30 | 23¢ |
| $5.31 – $5.40 | 24¢ |
| $5.41 – $5.50 | 25¢ |
| $5.51 – $5.60 | 26¢ |
| $5.61 – $5.70 | 27¢ |
| $5.71 – $5.80 | 28¢ |
| $5.81 – $5.90 | 29¢ |
| $5.91 – $6.00 | 30¢ |
| $6.01 – $6.10 | 31¢ |
| $6.11 – $6.20 | 32¢ |
| $6.21 – $6.30 | 33¢ |
| $6.31 – $6.40 | 34¢ |
| $6.41 – $6.50 | 35¢ |
| $6.51 – $6.60 | 36¢ |
| $6.61 – $6.70 | 37¢ |
| $6.71 – $6.80 | 38¢ |
| $6.81 – $6.90 | 39¢ |
| $6.91 – $7.00 | 40¢ |
| $7.01 – $7.10 | 41¢ |
| $7.11 – $7.20 | 42¢ |
| $7.21 – $7.30 | 43¢ |
| $7.31 – $7.40 | 44¢ |
| $7.41 – $7.50 | 45¢ |
| $7.51 – $7.60 | 46¢ |
| $7.61 – $7.70 | 47¢ |
| $7.71 – $7.80 | 48¢ |
| $7.81 – $7.90 | 49¢ |
| $7.91 – $8.00 | 50¢ |
How diesel prices are set
Plain-language background · sources checked October 19, 2026
Every gallon of on-highway diesel carries four layers of cost: the crude oil it is made from, the refinery that turns it into fuel, the trip from refinery to pump, and taxes. Here is how each piece works, and why the price on a fuel island in one state can be well above the price a few hundred miles away.
What's in a gallon of diesel
Share of the 2025 average U.S. retail on-highway diesel price ($3.66/gal). The mix shifts month to month; from March to May 2026, as the retail price rose from about $4.92 to $5.60, refining's share ran roughly 25–34%. Data: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Diesel prices and outlook and diesel pump components history.
1. Crude oil
Crude is the biggest single cost, averaging about half of the retail diesel price since 2004. It is priced on a world market, so global supply decisions, inventories, and economic growth all move it. A refinery gets roughly 11–12 gallons of diesel from each 42-gallon barrel.
2. Refining margins
The refining share is what's left between the crude cost and the wholesale fuel price. It widens when diesel is scarce, for example during refinery outages, low inventories, or strong export demand, and narrows when supply is plentiful. Heating-oil demand in fall and winter competes for the same distillate barrels.
3. Distribution & marketing
Fuel moves by pipeline, barge, rail, and truck to terminals, then by tank truck to stations. This layer covers freight, terminal and station operating costs, and retailer margins. High-volume truck stops usually price below small stations.
4. Taxes
The federal tax on on-highway diesel is 24.4¢ per gallon: a 24.3¢ excise tax plus a 0.1¢ Leaking Underground Storage Tank fee. State taxes and fees vary widely and averaged about 36¢ per gallon as of January 2026. Local and sales taxes can add more.
Why prices differ by region
For fuel statistics the country is split into five Petroleum Administration for Defense Districts (PADDs): East Coast (1), Midwest (2), the Texas–Louisiana coast (3), Rocky Mountain (4), and West Coast (5). PADD 3 produces about half of U.S. diesel, so places farther from that refining hub tend to pay more for transportation. The West Coast, and California in particular, is usually the most expensive. Its market is not well connected to the rest of the country's pipeline network and relies mostly on in-region refineries, so an outage there is hard to make up for. California also requires its own cleaner-burning diesel, set by the California Air Resources Board with limits on aromatics and sulfur, and taxes it more heavily.
Rack price vs. retail price
Refiners and traders buy and sell bulk fuel. Exchange-traded futures and spot assessments set daily benchmark prices.
Truckload sales where ownership changes hands at a terminal loading rack, usually priced off those wholesale benchmarks plus a terminal differential.
The rack price plus delivery, taxes, station costs, and retailer margin. Retail prices often lag moves in wholesale prices.
A rack-based index like FRIX follows the wholesale end of this chain, so it reacts to market changes faster than surveys of pump prices.
How futures and wholesale markets work
A futures contract is an agreement to buy or sell a set amount of fuel at a set price for delivery in a future month. Refiners, distributors, fleets, and traders use these contracts to hedge price risk, and the exchange publishes a daily settlement price for each contract. Many physical wholesale deals are priced as a differential to a futures benchmark ("benchmark plus or minus a few cents"), so moves in futures pass through to rack prices within days.
Why trucking uses fuel surcharges
Fuel is one of a carrier's largest operating costs, and it can swing by dollars per gallon within months. Freight rates are often set weeks or months ahead. A fuel surcharge separates fuel from the base rate: when the published index rises above an agreed base (here, $3.00/gal), the surcharge per mile rises on a fixed schedule, and it falls again when prices come down. Shippers get a transparent formula, and carriers aren't stuck absorbing price spikes.
Sources & further reading
- Diesel fuel explained — U.S. Energy Information Administration
- Factors affecting diesel prices — U.S. Energy Information Administration
- Diesel prices and outlook — U.S. Energy Information Administration
- How much tax do we pay on a gallon of diesel? — U.S. Energy Information Administration FAQ
- Why are diesel prices higher than gasoline prices? — U.S. Energy Information Administration FAQ
- Weekly retail gasoline and diesel prices — U.S. Energy Information Administration
- PADD regions explained — U.S. Energy Information Administration, Today in Energy
- California Diesel Fuel program — California Air Resources Board
- Glossary: rack sales — U.S. Energy Information Administration
- PetroEyes — oil and gas market research and explainers
- FuelAnchor — fleet fuel price tracking and fuel-cost risk
Educational content only, not investment, tax, legal, or trading advice. Tax rates and cost shares are as published by the sources above on the date checked and may change.
Media inquiries
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Citing FRIX
FRIX values may be quoted or charted with attribution:
Source: FRIX Fuel Rack Index
Please include the week-ending date of the value you cite.
Release schedule
One release per week, every Monday, covering the prior Monday–Friday trading week. When Monday is a holiday, the release may move to the next business day.