Diesel Prices in New England: Weekly Trucking Fuel Cost and Surcharge (2026)
Diesel in New England averaged $6.441 a gallon for the week of 12 October 2026, according to the Energy Information Administration's weekly survey of on-highway diesel prices. That is down 3.5 cents on the week, up $2.492 on a year earlier, and 26.2 cents above the U.S. average of $6.179.
By Small Fleet HQ | Updated
Diesel prices in New England, week of 12 October 2026
Prices are for the week of .
The figure is EIA's PADD 1A series, a volume-weighted average of cash self-serve prices with taxes included. It covers Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont.
| Measure | New England | U.S. average |
|---|---|---|
| This week | $6.441 | $6.179 |
| Change on the week | down 3.5 cents | down 2 cents |
| Change over four weeks | up 23.9 cents | down 10.6 cents |
| Same week a year earlier | $3.949 | $3.665 |
| 52-week high | $6.517, 21 September 2026 | $6.529, 21 September 2026 |
| 52-week low | $3.933, 27 October 2025 | $3.459, 12 January 2026 |
New England is the fifth most expensive of EIA's ten regions this week. Over the last 52 weeks it averaged 32.1 cents above the U.S. average. The highest week in the series, which starts on 26 May 1997, was 21 September 2026 at $6.517.
The trend in New England over two years
The chart shows New England against the U.S. average for the last 104 weeks. Move a pointer across it, or focus it and use the arrow keys, to read any week.
Fuel surcharge in New England
The calculator starts from New England's price this week. Swap in the series your contract names, then enter its base price and miles per gallon.
Enter your contract terms
How it adds up
The starting base price of $1.25 is an example, and 7.28 miles a gallon is the average ATBS reported for its owner-operator clients in 2025. On a 500-mile load, the regional and national prices give different answers:
| Contract reads | Price | Surcharge a mile | On 500 miles |
|---|---|---|---|
| New England price | $6.441 | $0.713 | $356.50 |
| U.S. average | $6.179 | $0.677 | $338.50 |
This week a surcharge on the U.S. average pays $18.00 less on that load than one on New England's price. The truck burns about 68.7 gallons either way, roughly $442.50 at New England's average pump price.
Diesel price before taxes in New England
Every price above includes the federal diesel tax of $0.244 a gallon and state taxes. The table takes both off New England's price for each state it covers, using the diesel columns of EIA's July 2026 (revised) tax table.
| State | State diesel tax | Taxes and fees in total | Price before taxes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Connecticut | $0.499 | $0.499 | $5.698 |
| Maine | $0.312 | $0.320 | $5.877 |
| Massachusetts | $0.240 | $0.276 | $5.921 |
| New Hampshire | $0.222 | $0.237 | $5.960 |
| Rhode Island | $0.400 | $0.411 | $5.786 |
| Vermont | $0.280 | $0.330 | $5.867 |
New Hampshire has the lowest state diesel taxes in the region at $0.237 and Connecticut the highest at $0.499, a spread of 26.2 cents a gallon that carries straight into the price before taxes.
What EIA counts in each state's taxes and fees
- Connecticut. Petroleum Products Gross Earnings tax (PGET): 8.1% of gross earnings in each taxable quarter derived from the first sale of petroleum products. PGET does not apply to products to be used as heating fuels or bunker fuels.
- Maine. Maine Coastal and Inland Surface Oil Clean-up Fund fee (no longer in effect after July 3, 2015): $0.0300/bbl ($0.0007/gal) for all crude oil and refined oil, including #6 fuel oil, #2 fuel oil, kerosene, gasoline, jet fuel, diesel fuel and liquid asphalt. Ground Water Oil Clean-up Fund fees: $0.6100/bbl ($0.01452/gal) of gasoline; $0.3200/bbl ($0.007619/gal) of refined petroleum products and their by-products (other than gasoline and #6 fuel oil), including #2 fuel oil, kerosene, jet fuel and diesel fuel; and $0.0400/bbl of #6 fuel oil. Petroleum Marketing Fund Fee: $0.4000 per 10,000 gallons of home heating oil and motor fuel oil.
- Massachusetts. Underground Storage Tank Petroleum Product Cleanup Fund Delivery fee: $343.93 per 10k load ($0.034393/gal). Underground Storage Tank fee: $250 per year, per tank. Uniform Oil Response + Prevention fee: $0.0500/barrel ($0.0012/gal), all products.
- New Hampshire. Oil Discharge and Disposal Cleanup Fund fee: $0.01331/gal on gasoline and diesel fuels, excluding heating fuels. Oil Pollution Control Fund fee: $0.00215/gal on all petroleum products except LPG and natural gas.
- Rhode Island. Environmental Protection Regulatory fee (EPRF): $0.0100/gal. Uniform Oil Response and Prevention (UORF) fee: $0.0500/bbl ($0.0012/gal).
- Vermont. Petroleum Distributor Licensing Fee: $0.0100/gal. Motor Fuel Transportation Infrastructure Assessment (MFTIA) fee: gasoline $0.0476/gal; diesel $0.0300/gal. Motor Fuel Tax Assessment (MFTA) applies to gasoline only: $0.1340/gal. Clean up fee applies to diesel only: $0.0100/gal.
Those state taxes are what your IFTA return settles, by the miles you run in each state. To set New England beside every other region, see diesel prices by region.
Why there is no single-state price here
EIA publishes weekly diesel averages for the country, its regions and California, and no other state. A truck fueling anywhere in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island or Vermont is inside this regional figure. New England is part of EIA's East Coast series, which also covers the Central Atlantic and the Lower Atlantic.
- Diesel Prices in the East Coast: Weekly Trucking Fuel Cost and Surcharge (2026)
- Diesel Prices in the Central Atlantic: Weekly Trucking Fuel Cost and Surcharge (2026)
- Diesel Prices in the Lower Atlantic: Weekly Trucking Fuel Cost and Surcharge (2026)
Method: how each number was obtained
- The weekly prices are EIA's PADD 1A on-highway diesel series, all types, in dollars a gallon, read from EIA's history table each day so that revisions carry over.
- EIA collects the cash self-serve price, taxes included, as of 8:00 a.m. local time each Monday.
- Federal and state diesel taxes and fees come from EIA's federal and state motor fuels tax table.
- Changes, highs and lows, gaps to the U.S. average, rank, surcharge figures and prices before taxes are our arithmetic on those figures.
The page updates only when EIA's figures change. Pages across the site follow our rating methodology.
What we could not verify
- County and local fuel taxes, and state taxes on gross or net receipts, which EIA's tax table leaves out.
- The price at any single truck stop in New England, which can sit well away from the regional average.
- The base price and fuel economy in your own surcharge program.
Sample, window and limitations
The New England series starts on 26 May 1997. EIA changed its survey sample on 13 June 2022 and says prices from that week on are not directly comparable with earlier weeks. The chart shows two years and the table one. The prices before taxes use this week's regional price with each state's taxes, so each is an estimate: EIA measured no price for the state itself.
How to cite this
Small Fleet HQ, "Diesel Prices in New England: Weekly Trucking Fuel Cost and Surcharge (2026)", updated October 15, 2026, https://smallfleethq.com/fuel-cards/diesel/new-england. Price data: U.S. Energy Information Administration, weekly retail on-highway diesel prices, PADD 1A, week of 12 October 2026.
Frequently asked questions
EIA's average retail on-highway diesel price for New England was $6.441 a gallon for the week of 12 October 2026, down 3.5 cents on the week before and above the U.S. average by 26.2 cents.
EIA's New England figure covers Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont.
It depends on your contract. With New England's price of $6.441, a $1.250 base price and 7.28 miles a gallon, the surcharge comes to $0.713 a mile. A contract that reads the U.S. average uses $6.179 instead, so check which series yours names.
New England's state diesel taxes and fees run from $0.237 a gallon in New Hampshire to $0.499 in Connecticut in EIA's latest table, on top of the $0.244 federal tax.
Sources & References (6)
U.S. Energy Information Administration, Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Update, weekly retail on-highway diesel prices
eia.gov ↗U.S. Energy Information Administration, Weekly Retail Gasoline and Diesel Prices, history tables by region
eia.gov ↗U.S. Energy Information Administration, On-Highway Diesel Fuel Price Survey methodology
eia.gov ↗U.S. Energy Information Administration, definitions for retail gasoline and diesel prices, including the PADD regions
eia.gov ↗U.S. Energy Information Administration, Federal and state motor fuels taxes, July 2026 (revised) edition
eia.gov ↗Todd Dills, "Owner-op income up, with 'capacity-driven' trucking recovery ongoing, fuel-cost wildcard", Overdrive, 26 March 2026 (ATBS 2025 fuel economy)
overdriveonline.com ↗