RALEIGH – North Carolina’s average diesel price reached a record $6.0518 per gallon Sept. 15, up 74.8% from a year earlier as fuel costs increased for diesel-dependent industries.
AAA’s state price tracker showed the average up 22.73 cents from $5.8245 a week earlier and 72.23 cents from $5.3295 a month earlier. The average was $3.4625 one year ago, a year-over-year increase of $2.5893, or 74.8%.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported a similar regional rise. The Lower Atlantic average, which includes North Carolina, reached $6.096 per gallon for the week ending Sept. 14, up 49.1 cents from the prior week. The national average rose 31.8 cents to $6.285.
Reuters reported Sept. 15 that the national diesel average had crossed $6 for the first time as the war involving Iran, attacks on Russian refineries and Russian export restrictions tightened fuel supplies. Diesel is a major input for freight transportation, agriculture and industrial operations.
For North Carolina businesses, the record state average raises the fuel benchmark faced by trucking fleets, farms, construction companies and other diesel users. The available price datasets do not measure how much individual businesses have absorbed or passed through to customers, so the firm-level effect cannot yet be quantified.
The AAA figure is a daily North Carolina average. The EIA figure is a weekly regional average covering the Lower Atlantic and should not be treated as a second state-specific estimate. Both include taxes.