Record Imports Meet A Freight Network With Less Slack
The EIA national on-highway diesel average fell 18.3 cents to $6.199 per gallon, but it remains 67.0% above the comparable prior-year price. Freight activity is concentrated rather than universal: Los Angeles posted its busiest month ever, Savannah set a September record, wholesale sales rose 1.8% from July, and U.S. intermodal volume increased 7.4% year over year. C.H. Robinson still reports route-guide failures above 6% and materially weaker performance on long hauls. Treat the demand signal as lane- and node-specific, and protect service where imports, rail handoffs, weather, or equipment constraints overlap.
Diesel At $6.285 Tests A Market With Conflicting Demand Signals
Record diesel, mixed truckload rates, stronger retail and freight shipments, manufacturing softness, port rail dwell, weather, and broker carrier-selection risk.
The brief synthesizes publicly available government data, official releases, primary documents and clearly labeled industry interpretation. Data may be revised by issuing organizations, and descriptive source links accompany every edition.
