Cost per mile
Diesel fuel cost per mile
86.1 cents a mile for the week of Aug 31, 2026, at a stated 6.5 mpg reference. About $430.69 of fuel for a 500-mile haul. Fuel only; not an all-in operating cost.
Data through Aug 31, 2026 · source last checked Sep 1, 2026 · page revised Sep 1, 2026
Cite
- Cost per mile
About this data
- Source
- Derived from EIA weekly on-highway diesel survey
- Series
- Fuel cost per mile at a 6.5 mpg reference
- Basis
- Fuel only, 6.5 mpg reference efficiency
- Geography
- United States
- Unit
- cents/mile
- Calculation
- Weekly (survey week)
- Last observation
- Aug 31, 2026
- Update frequency
- Weekly
At the stated 6.5 mpg reference, this week's $5.599/gal puts fuel at 86.1 cents a mile, about $430.69 for a 500-mile haul. The week's move trims about $4.08 from the fuel cost of a 500-mile haul.
| Period | Cost per mile (6.5 mpg) | Fuel for a 500-mile haul | Week of |
|---|---|---|---|
| This week | 86.1 cents/mi | $430.69 | Aug 31, 2026 |
| A week ago | 87.0 cents/mi | $434.77 | Aug 24, 2026 |
| A month ago | 82.3 cents/mi | $411.38 | Aug 3, 2026 |
| A year ago | 57.4 cents/mi | $287.23 | Sep 1, 2025 |
Previous weeks
An earlier week
Fuel cost per mile stands at 83.9 cents a mile at the stated 6.5 mpg reference for the week of Aug 17, up 3.0 cents from a week ago and 26.8 cents versus a year ago. The week's move adds about $15.15 in fuel to a 500-mile haul.
Week of Aug 18, 2026
The week of August 17 puts the DOE number at $5.454/gal, translating to 83.9 cents a mile at the stated 6.5 mpg reference. The 19.7-cent jump from last week adds about $15.15 to the fuel cost of a 500-mile haul. The index is 47% above its 5-year median for this calendar week, per EIA's on-highway diesel survey.
About Diesel fuel cost per mile
Every figure on this page uses a stated reference efficiency of 6.5 miles per gallon, a plain mid-fleet figure for a loaded Class 8 truck. It is a fixed reference for comparing weeks, not an estimate of any particular truck; a rig running 7.5 mpg spends about 13% less per mile than the reference, one at 5.5 mpg about 18% more. The 500-mile haul line is the same math over one round figure of distance: about 77 gallons burned.
The underlying price is EIA's Monday on-highway diesel release, the same index on the DOE number page. This page only restates it in the unit an operator actually plans in.