Monthly Report · April 2026
State of Cross-Border Freight
April 2026: U.S. on-highway diesel down 2.3%, UPS parcel fuel surcharge -0.50 pts, and Canada-US commercial border waits up 3 minutes on average.
Published April 1, 2026 · Covers 2026-03-01 to 2026-03-31
EIA Diesel Avg
$3.84/gal
▼ 2.3% MoM
UPS / FedEx FSC
21.50% / 20.25%
▼ 0.50 pts MoM
Network Avg Border Wait
17 min
▲ 3 min MoM
Diesel: weekly EIA national average
The U.S. on-highway diesel index averaged $3.84/gal in January 1970, a down 2.3% change from December's $3.93/gal — and up 4.9% year over year.
Weekly EIA on-highway national diesel price · weeks ending Mar 2 – Mar 30, 2026
Diesel softened steadily through the month. The week-ending high was $3.91 and the low was $3.79 — a swing of 0.12 per gallon. For shippers tracking line-haul fuel exposure, that's roughly $1 in saved fuel cost per 1,000-mile dry-van trip versus the start of the month (assuming 6.5 mpg).
Fuel surcharges: parcel and LTL
Carriers reset fuel surcharges weekly off the EIA index. Below is the monthly average effective surcharge on each carrier's published table, plus an LTL composite drawn from the major carriers' national tariffs.
| Carrier / Mode | Jan 1970 avg | Prior month | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| UPS Ground (parcel) | 21.50% | 22.00% | ▼ 0.50 pts |
| FedEx Ground (parcel) | 20.25% | 20.75% | ▼ 0.50 pts |
| LTL composite (dry) | 35.4% | 36.1% | ▼ 0.7 pts |
LTL composite reflects the simple average of Old Dominion, XPO, Saia, and Estes published national tables applied to the month's diesel average.
Canada–US commercial border waits
Network-wide commercial-truck wait time averaged 17 minutes across the CBSA reporting crossings — up 3 minutes from the previous month. The three busiest GTA-corridor and BC crossings:
Windsor, ON ↔ Detroit, MI
Ambassador Bridge
38 min
▲ 7 min vs prior month
Prior: 31 min
Fort Erie, ON ↔ Buffalo, NY
Peace Bridge
24 min
▲ 5 min vs prior month
Prior: 19 min
Surrey, BC ↔ Blaine, WA
Pacific Highway
22 min
▲ 4 min vs prior month
Prior: 18 min
From the CargoTools desk
March 2026 broke the trend we saw through Q4 2025 and January 2026 — diesel finally cooled, dropping 2.3% on the EIA national average. UPS and FedEx parcel fuel surcharges followed, both dropping 0.5 percentage points. That reads like good news for shippers, but two factors offset the relief: LTL accessorial creep continues (we'll cover this in a forthcoming audit), and GTA-corridor border waits ticked up sharply. Ambassador Bridge alone added 7 minutes of average commercial wait time, driven by spring construction at the approach ramps. For shippers running Toronto–Detroit lanes, the diesel relief is being eaten by detention-related accessorials at the border. Q2 forecast: diesel stable around \u003c$3.85, parcel FSCs flat, border waits worsening through May as construction season ramps. Plan reefer and time-sensitive Toronto–Detroit moves around 4–9am pickup windows to dodge the worst of it.
— CargoTools Editorial Team
What this means for your shipping costs
- → Parcel: On a $100 base parcel rate, fuel surcharge is roughly $0.50 lower per shipment versus last month. Across 1,000 shipments that's about $5/month back to the bottom line.
- → LTL: On a $400 LTL line-haul, fuel surcharge ran roughly $2.80 lower per shipment than last month. Use our FSC auditor to confirm your carrier passed the savings through.
- → Cross-border: Border waits held roughly steady. Check our live Border Wait Times dashboard before dispatch.
Use these data points in your workflow
Tool
Live Fuel Surcharge Tracker →
UPS and FedEx surcharges this week, updated from EIA diesel automatically.
Tool
FSC Auditor →
Was your fuel surcharge fair? Compare carrier billing against the EIA standard.
Tool
Border Wait Times →
Live commercial-truck wait times across all CBSA crossings.
Tool
USMCA Checker →
Confirm your shipment qualifies for duty-free Canada–US–Mexico treatment.
Get next month's report by email
One email on the 1st of every month — diesel, fuel surcharges, border waits, and a short editorial read. No spam, unsubscribe any time.
Methodology & sources
Diesel prices reflect the EIA's published U.S. weekly on-highway average for the prior month. Parcel fuel surcharge percentages are calculated using each carrier's published indexed-rate table applied to that month's diesel average. LTL fuel surcharge reflects an industry composite (Old Dominion, XPO, Saia, Estes published tables). Border wait times are the daily 7am–7pm commercial-truck average, sourced from CBSA, averaged across the prior month.
- U.S. Energy Information Administration — Weekly On-Highway Diesel Prices
- Canada Border Services Agency — Border Wait Times
- UPS Domestic Ground Fuel Surcharge Index
- FedEx Ground Fuel Surcharge Index
Raw data: download 2026-04.json