Freight markets · Industry analysis
A year-end fuel review that keeps averages separate from invoices
Coverage: .
December is a useful time to ask whether a freight budget is measuring the right thing. A lower national diesel benchmark may help explain one part of a cost discussion, but it cannot reconstruct an invoice. This December 2024 retrospective uses EIA’s monthly history to separate the closing month, the path through the year and a shipment-specific fuel scenario. The result is a more transparent discussion of assumptions, not a promised freight price.
What to take away
Three points for your next decision
- The 2024 series describes national retail diesel observations, not a carrier’s fuel purchases.
- Choose the comparison period before calculating a change.
- Document any surcharge agreement separately from a budget scenario.
The path matters as much as the endpoint
The EIA history viewed October 5, 2026 lists December 2024 at $3.494 per gallon, compared with $3.854 in January. February is the highest of the twelve displayed monthly observations at $4.044. The chart reproduces that 2024 row from the page’s September 29, 2026 release vintage. It is a later view of historical observations, not a claim that the completed December value was known at the beginning of December.
Sources: [1]
Data in context
U.S. No. 2 diesel retail prices during 2024
Dollars per gallon · USD per gallon
EIA series EMD_EPD2D_PTE_NUS_DPG, monthly frequency; historical row accessed October 5, 2026, page release September 29, 2026. These are retail benchmark observations, not shipment rates, carrier purchase records or an annual average.
Sources: [1]
View data table and download CSV
| 2024 month | Dollars per gallon (USD per gallon) |
|---|---|
| Jan | 3.854 |
| Feb | 4.044 |
| Mar | 4.022 |
| Apr | 4.002 |
| May | 3.822 |
| Jun | 3.722 |
| Jul | 3.81 |
| Aug | 3.7 |
| Sep | 3.558 |
| Oct | 3.585 |
| Nov | 3.522 |
| Dec | 3.494 |
EIA’s current methodology describes a survey of retail on-highway diesel outlets in the contiguous United States and weighted price estimation. It covers truck stops and service stations and excludes Alaska and Hawaii from the target population. This explains the geographic and measurement boundary of the benchmark. A national observation does not reveal the price paid by a particular operator at a particular stop.
Sources: [2]
Decide what the comparison is meant to answer
For a year-end discussion, write the question above the calculation. A January-to-December comparison asks how the two endpoints differ. A December-to-December comparison asks about the same month in successive years. Reviewing every month asks whether a single endpoint hides variation during the period. Those are all legitimate questions, but they produce different answers. Mixing them in one budget meeting can make two accurate figures sound contradictory.
| Planning question | Useful comparison | What it leaves unresolved |
|---|---|---|
| How did the year finish relative to its start? | January and December observations from the same series | The path and exposure between the endpoints |
| How did a recurring shipment’s bill change? | Comparable invoices and their agreed pricing terms | Whether a national benchmark caused the entire difference |
| What happens if the assumed fuel price changes? | Same mileage and consumption assumptions at two input prices | Actual operating consumption and the agreed freight charge |
| What was our own annual exposure? | Company records weighted by actual activity or purchases | Costs not captured in those records |
An unweighted average of twelve monthly observations is also a calculation a planner can make, but it should be described as that calculation. It should not be relabeled as an official annual statistic or the price a business paid. A shipper moving most of its freight in one part of the year may have a very different exposure from a business with evenly distributed activity. Match the weighting to the business question instead of choosing the most convenient spreadsheet function.
Use a scenario to expose the assumptions
A simple fuel scenario begins with miles divided by miles per gallon to estimate gallons, then multiplies gallons by an assumed dollars-per-gallon input. Keeping the units visible helps catch a common problem: a per-gallon benchmark is being discussed beside a per-mile charge without an explicit conversion. The consumption input is an assumption unless supported by relevant operating records. It is not an efficiency claim about AMLINEX or any other provider.
Your assumptions. A transparent calculation.
Explore a fuel-budget assumption
Enter your own hypothetical miles, miles per gallon and dollars per gallon. Arithmetic is local to this page and can be printed. It does not calculate an AMLINEX quote, invoice or agreed fuel surcharge.
Enter all four assumptions to see the scenario.
Gallons = miles ÷ miles per gallon. Expense = gallons × price. This assumes constant fuel economy across the distance you enter. It excludes idling, separate refrigerated-unit fuel, tolls, labor and other operating costs. It is not an AMLINEX rate, quote or fuel-surcharge calculation.
Inputs stay on this page; nothing is sent or saved.
For an illustrative exercise, hold mileage and consumption constant while changing only the price input. That isolates the effect of the chosen fuel assumption. Next, hold price constant and change consumption to see how sensitive the estimate is to that assumption. Avoid changing all inputs at once and attributing the entire result to the benchmark. The exercise is most useful when the team can explain which assumption changed and why it chose the alternate value.
If refrigerated equipment is requested, do not silently treat this basic driving-fuel calculation as a complete refrigeration-energy model. Discuss the equipment request, expected handling and any separately priced services with the provider. The tool supports a narrow arithmetic exercise. It does not capture every energy use, waiting condition, repositioning requirement or commercial term that may matter to the movement.
Bring a pricing question to the contract
A budget estimate and a surcharge agreement serve different purposes. Before comparing charges, identify whether the offer is all-inclusive or itemized, which reference series and geography are used if any, the reference week or period, and how the agreed formula changes with the index. Ask about any lag, base amount, rounding convention and applicable mileage definition. These are questions to resolve with the provider, not terms supplied by EIA’s retail-price table.
Put it into practice
A cleaner year-end review
Use this checklist here, or print a copy. Your choices stay on this page and reset when you leave.
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The useful outcome is a traceable explanation: this benchmark moved, these assumptions were held constant, and these commercial terms still require confirmation. That is stronger decision support than applying a national percentage change directly to every freight invoice. For a new shipment, provide the actual origin, destination, freight details and timing so that the requested service can be assessed on its own facts.
Read the underlying evidence
Sources & scope
- U.S. No. 2 diesel retail prices: monthly history
U.S. Energy Information Administration
- Methodology for weekly on-highway diesel fuel estimates
U.S. Energy Information Administration
Source publication, data coverage and this article’s publication date are different records. Later revisions may change a series or practical interpretation.
Freight planning in practice: explore six illustrative scenarios