Diesel falls for 10th straight week to $3.526 a gallon
Federal data in September 2024 showed the national average diesel price had dropped nearly 34 cents since early July and stood more than $1 below a year earlier.
In September 2024, the U.S. national average retail diesel price fell for a 10th consecutive week. U.S. Energy Information Administration data released Sept. 16 put the average at $3.526 a gallon, down 2.9 cents from the prior week, Transport Topics reported.
The cumulative decline since July 8 reached 33.9 cents. The average was $1.107 lower than in the same week of 2023.
Lowest since 2021
A week earlier, EIA's reading of $3.56 a gallon for the week ending Sept. 9 was already the lowest national average since the fall of 2021, Overdrive reported. The last time the average had been lower was the week ending Oct. 4, 2021, at $3.48.
Regional prices
Four of EIA's five regions posted declines in the Sept. 16 survey:
- East Coast: down 3.4 cents to $3.585
- Midwest: down 4.7 cents to $3.481
- Gulf Coast: down 1.8 cents to $3.172
- West Coast: down 1.3 cents to $4.244
The Rocky Mountain region was the only one to rise, gaining 2.1 cents to $3.588.
California remained the most expensive market, dipping 0.6 cent to $4.733. New England fell 5.3 cents to $3.818, the largest weekly drop among the subregions.
Year over year
Every region was well below its level a year earlier. The West Coast showed the largest annual decline, at $1.451. The Rocky Mountain region was down $1.276, the Gulf Coast $1.18, the Midwest $1.011 and the East Coast 95.2 cents.
Gasoline also fell, declining 5.6 cents to a national average of $3.18 a gallon, 69.8 cents below a year earlier.
What it meant for carriers
Diesel at the pump cost more than $1 a gallon less than in September 2023, and the national average had declined every week since early July. Transport Topics described the year-over-year drop as significant price relief for the trucking industry.