Peak season is already at the docks

Plus record diesel at $6.29 and 6,748 live locations

Author

Reed Loustalot
September 18, 2026

TRUCK PARKING CLUB

Friday Bulletin • September 18, 2026

Good Morning Truck Parking Club Members,

Diesel Is Eating Your Miles

Diesel just printed a record $6.285 a gallon, and you feel it every time you fuel. Tell us who really absorbs that cost, how record highs are changing where you shut down, and what would take the pressure off. Eight quick questions.

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The Big Thing

The Freight Is Already at the Dock

For two years the question was whether the freight would ever come back. It is coming back through the front door right now. September is on track to be the single busiest import month of 2026. The National Retail Federation's Global Port Tracker projects 2.31 million container units moving through the major U.S. ports this month, up almost 10% from a year ago and bigger than any month all year.

Those boxes are not numbers on a screen. Every one of them turns into a domestic load in the next one to three weeks, and it is landing on a truckload market that is already short on trucks. The Port of Los Angeles just posted the best three-month cargo stretch in its history, moving 2.9 million container units across the summer. The peak that some forecasters called dead back in July did not fizzle. It stretched longer, and the back half is hitting now.

Retailers kept importing straight through tariffs, inflation, and record fuel because consumers kept buying. All of that freight has to move inland by truck, and the trucks to move it are thinner than they have been in two years. That is the setup owner-operators wait years for: more freight coming while capacity is tight.

What this means for you. If you run lanes out of the port gateways and the big inland hubs, the Inland Empire, Dallas, Chicago, Savannah, and the Carolinas, the next several weeks are when the volume shows up. Know your cost per mile cold, because record diesel is the tax on all of it (see Mile Markers), and do not hand away capacity on a cheap load when a fuller board is right behind it.

The calendar keeps pushing. The port tracker still has October above 2 million container units, with holiday freight layering in on top, and the parcel carriers have already set their peak surcharge windows (down in the News). The freight builds from here into Thanksgiving. Position now, not in November.

The wave you have been waiting on is already breaking on the dock. Be in the right lane when it reaches the road.

Mile Markers

Where the numbers landed this week.

Diesel: $6.285/gal, up 31.8 cents on the week and another record high. It now sits about $2.55 above where it was a year ago. (EIA)

Spot rates (all-in, national average): Van $2.99, Reefer $3.61, Flatbed $3.59 per mile. All three ticked up on the week as record diesel pushed fuel surcharges higher, and all three are running well above a year ago. (DAT)

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News

A Peterbilt Brake Recall Hits 2027 Trucks. NHTSA says Peterbilt is recalling 58 of its 2027 Model 548 trucks because the front brake valve and hoses may be the wrong size, which can delay the rear service brakes and stretch your stopping distance. Dealers will replace the valve and hoses at no charge, and owner letters are due out by October 31. If you run a new 548, check your VIN on NHTSA.gov or call Peterbilt at 940-591-4220. Read more on FleetOwner

The Holiday Shipping Surcharges Are Locked In. UPS, FedEx, and USPS have set their 2026 peak-season surcharge windows, with UPS starting September 27, FedEx September 28, and USPS October 4, all running into mid-January. The steepest fees land between Thanksgiving and Christmas. It is the clearest sign yet that the holiday freight push is here, and the parcels riding those rates still move on trucks. Read more on EasyPost

Freight Is Shifting to the Rails. U.S. intermodal set a monthly record in August, averaging 296,741 containers and trailers a week, up 4.4% from a year ago, according to the Association of American Railroads. The AAR credits higher trucking costs, fuel, insurance, maintenance, and fewer available drivers, for pushing shippers toward rail. When diesel runs this hot, some of your freight rides steel instead of rubber. Read more on Logistics Management

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