Diesel Hits $5.35/Gallon — Auto Haulers Absorb $1.80 YoY Spike

How much did diesel prices rise for auto haulers this year?

National average diesel prices stood at approximately $5.35 per gallon as of May 1, according to Super Dispatch's Fuel and Transport Cost Tracker — $1.80 per gallon higher than the same week in 2025. Auto transport costs have climbed 16.7% from pre-conflict levels, with the seven-day average price per mile reaching $0.98.

The spike follows a single-week surge that pushed retail diesel to $5.64 per gallon — a 29-cent jump — before the recent pullback. Inventories are falling even as demand declines, and S&P Global Energy analysts warn that the full severity of supply disruptions linked to blockages in the Strait of Hormuz has not yet materialized.

For auto haulers, fuel accounts for roughly 25% of operating costs, Super Dispatch CEO Matt Bradley told FreightWaves. A $1.80 per-gallon increase translates directly to margin compression when contract rates lag spot diesel movement by weeks or months. Auto transport operates on thinner per-mile margins than dry van or reefer — carriers moving vehicles on multi-car trailers cannot easily pass through fuel surcharges mid-contract the way truckload carriers can with indexed FSC clauses.

Why auto transport margins tighten faster than truckload

Auto haulers face structural disadvantages when diesel moves this fast. Most vehicle transport contracts are negotiated quarterly or semi-annually with OEMs, rental car companies, and dealership networks. Those agreements typically include a fuel surcharge mechanism, but the index lags spot diesel by 30 to 60 days. When diesel jumps 29 cents in a week, carriers eat the difference until the next billing cycle.

Truckload carriers running general freight can renegotiate fuel surcharges more frequently or shift to spot loads when contract rates no longer cover fuel. Auto haulers cannot — the equipment is specialized, the lanes are fixed by where vehicles are manufactured and sold, and the customer base is concentrated. A carrier moving Toyotas from the Port of Long Beach to Phoenix cannot pivot to hauling produce when fuel spikes.

The $0.98 per-mile average cited by Super Dispatch reflects blended contract and spot pricing across the auto transport network. That figure is up from roughly $0.84 per mile before the Iran conflict began, a 16.7% increase. For a carrier running a 2,000-mile round trip from the Midwest to the West Coast, the fuel cost delta alone is $280 per load at current diesel prices versus year-ago levels — assuming 6 miles per gallon and a $1.80 per-gallon increase.

Supply warnings point to further pressure

S&P Global Energy's warning that tougher conditions lie ahead suggests diesel could test $6 per gallon if Strait of Hormuz disruptions persist. Roughly 20% of global oil supply moves through that chokepoint. Even a partial blockage tightens refining margins and pushes diesel crack spreads higher.

U.S. diesel inventories have dropped despite weakening demand — a signal that supply-side constraints are outpacing consumption trends. When inventories fall while demand softens, the imbalance typically shows up as price volatility rather than sustained high prices, but the Iran conflict introduces a geopolitical risk premium that keeps the floor elevated.

For small fleets running auto transport, the operational question is whether to lock in fuel at current prices through forward contracts or ride spot diesel and hope for a pullback. Forward contracts cap upside risk but also lock in a $5.35 baseline when year-ago diesel sat near $3.55. Spot exposure leaves carriers vulnerable to another 29-cent weekly jump, but it also preserves the option to benefit if supply fears ease and diesel retreats.

What this means for a 5-truck auto hauler

A five-truck auto transport fleet running 10,000 miles per truck per week burns roughly 8,333 gallons of diesel weekly at 6 mpg. At $5.35 per gallon, weekly fuel cost is $44,583. At last year's $3.55 per gallon, the same mileage cost $29,583 — a $15,000 weekly difference, or $780,000 annualized.

If the fleet's contracts include a fuel surcharge indexed to the Department of Energy's weekly diesel average with a 30-day lag, the carrier is currently recovering fuel costs based on early April pricing — roughly $5.10 per gallon — while paying $5.35 at the pump. That 25-cent gap costs the fleet $2,083 per week until the surcharge catches up.

The 16.7% increase in auto transport pricing cited by Super Dispatch suggests some of the fuel cost is passing through to shippers, but the lag between diesel spikes and rate adjustments means carriers absorb the volatility in the interim. For owner-operators running one or two trucks, a $15,000 weekly fuel delta across a small fleet scales to $3,000 per truck per week — enough to turn a profitable month into a breakeven one if the surcharge does not adjust in time.

Fleets with cash reserves can weather the lag. Single-truck operators without a fuel surcharge clause in their contracts — common among smaller brokers and spot-market auto transport — are deciding whether to park the truck or run at a loss and hope diesel retreats before the next settlement.

The Jones Act waiver extended in April allows foreign-flagged vessels to move oil and fuel between U.S. ports for 90 days, which may ease coastal diesel supply constraints, but the waiver does not address the upstream supply risk tied to the Strait of Hormuz. Auto haulers running lanes in the Southeast and along the Gulf Coast may see modest diesel price relief if the waiver increases regional supply, but the national average will track global crude and refining margins until the Iran situation resolves.