After weeks of $6-plus diesel with no break, the pump finally gave a little back. It is not cheap fuel — not even close — but a 16.5-cent drop in one week is real money on every fill, and it landed the same week spot capacity started tightening into Thanksgiving. Both halves of that story matter for how you run the next few weeks.
The news
Truck Stop Talk’s “Weekly Trucking Market Report” (published November 11, 2026, covering November 2–9), reporting EIA and DAT data, says the EIA national average on-highway diesel price fell 16.5 cents to $6.127 a gallon for the week ending November 9, 2026 (released November 10), down from $6.292 the prior week. That makes a two-week drop of 22.5 cents, and every EIA region fell.
Where you fuel still matters a lot. The Gulf Coast was the cheapest major region at $5.741 a gallon, while California was the most expensive at $7.897 — a spread of more than $2.15 a gallon. At the national average of $6.127, a 150-gallon fill costs about $919.05, versus $943.80 last week — $24.75 less per fill. Run 1,000 gallons and the same drop is about $165 less than last week.
On the freight side, DAT’s November 9 national spot linehaul averages — excluding fuel surcharge — were dry van at $2.26 a mile, reefer at $2.77 a mile, and flatbed at $2.63 a mile. Truck Stop Talk flagged that DAT’s published week-over-week rate-change figures do not reconcile with prior weeks’ averages, so the averages above are the numbers to work from, not a claimed week-over-week jump.
Capacity is where the week really moved. Reefer tightened sharply: load postings rose 15.7%, truck postings fell 4.2%, and the reefer load-to-truck ratio jumped from 15.73 to 19.01 on holiday food freight. Flatbed was the tightest segment at a 42.26 load-to-truck ratio. Dry van was essentially flat at 10.90. The next EIA diesel release is November 17, 2026.
What this means for car haulers
Bank the relief — do not race rates down with it. A 22.5-cent drop over two weeks is real money per fill, and you should take it. But diesel is still over $6 a gallon, and it was $3.84 a year ago. If your surcharges and quotes were built at $6.29, they need a look — a review, not a giveaway. The carrier who hands the whole fuel saving back in a cheaper quote has just worked the same miles for less, with every other cost line exactly where it was.
The holiday capacity crunch is forming — plan like it. Reefer and flatbed did not tighten by accident. Holiday food freight is pulling trucks, Thanksgiving is close, and trucks that sit are trucks that miss the tightest weeks of the season. Lock in your dispatch plans now instead of scrambling later — good dispatching is what keeps a truck loaded, routed, and earning through a crunch instead of parked waiting on a load board.
Fuel-stop planning is worth real money on long runs. With more than $2 a gallon between the Gulf Coast and California, where you stop on a long run is not a habit — it is a line item. A 150-gallon fill planned in the cheap region instead of the expensive one can be a three-figure difference on a single stop. Map the fuel with the route, every run.
The bottom line: Take the 16.5 cents, keep your quotes honest at $6-plus diesel, plan your fuel stops by region, and keep every truck moving into the holiday crunch. Relief at the pump helps the carriers who manage it — it does not save the ones who give it away.
Call Victor at 954-947-3096 — if you need dispatching that keeps you loaded, equipment that earns, or help planning the holiday run, let’s talk.
Source: Truck Stop Talk, “Weekly Trucking Market Report: Diesel Drops 16.5 Cents as Reefer Freight Demand Surges” (published Nov. 11, 2026; reporting period Nov. 2–9, 2026), reporting U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) diesel data and DAT spot market data — https://truckstoptalk.com/articles/weekly-trucking-market-report-november-10-2026 . Diesel figures are EIA national and regional on-highway averages; DAT figures are national spot linehaul averages excluding fuel surcharge, not car-hauler-specific rates.
