If you’ve gotten an auto transport quote recently and thought the price seemed higher than you expected, there’s a good chance fuel costs are a big part of the reason. Diesel fuel is the single largest operating expense for the carriers who actually move your vehicle, and in 2025, prices have been on a roller coaster. Let me explain how this all works, because understanding fuel’s role in transport pricing will save you a lot of confusion when you’re comparing quotes.
First, some basics. A typical car hauler — the big rigs you see on the highway carrying 7–10 vehicles — gets somewhere between 4 and 6 miles per gallon. Yes, you read that right. On a 1,500-mile run from Florida to New York, that truck is burning 250–375 gallons of diesel. At $4.00 a gallon, that’s $1,000–$1,500 just in fuel for a single trip. When diesel spikes to $4.50 or $5.00, that same trip costs $1,250–$1,875 in fuel alone. That difference has to come from somewhere, and it comes from the price you pay.
This is where fuel surcharges come in. Most carriers and brokers build fuel surcharges into their pricing, though how they do it varies. Some add it as a separate line item so you can see exactly what portion of your quote is fuel-related. Others roll it into the base price. Either way, the surcharge is typically calculated as a percentage based on the current national diesel average published by the Department of Energy. When diesel goes up 25 cents a gallon, fuel surcharges might increase 3–5% across the board.
In 2025, we’ve seen diesel prices swing between about $3.60 and $4.40 per gallon depending on the month and region. The spring saw a run-up driven by refinery maintenance, OPEC production decisions, and increased demand as shipping season kicked into gear. That pushed transport prices up noticeably between March and May. It’s not that carriers got greedier — their actual costs went up, and they have to cover them or they literally can’t afford to run their trucks.
Seasonality plays a huge role here too, and it compounds the fuel issue. Spring and summer are peak auto transport season. More people are moving, dealerships are restocking, snowbirds are heading north, and overall demand for carrier capacity goes up. When you combine higher demand with higher fuel prices, you get a double whammy on pricing. The cheapest time to ship a car is typically late fall or winter — November through early February — when both demand and fuel prices tend to be lower.
Here’s something most customers don’t realize: fuel costs affect different routes differently. A carrier running a flat, efficient route like Dallas to Phoenix is going to burn less fuel per mile than one climbing through the Rocky Mountains on a Denver to Seattle run. Altitude, terrain, weather, and traffic all affect fuel consumption. This is one reason why shipping costs aren’t purely a function of distance — a 1,200-mile route through the mountains can cost more than a 1,500-mile route across the plains.
When you’re comparing quotes from different companies, it’s important to understand that the cheapest quote isn’t always the best deal. If one company quotes you $200 less than everyone else, ask yourself: are they accounting for current fuel costs, or are they going to call you back in a week saying a carrier won’t take the load at that price? Low-ball quotes are the oldest trick in the auto transport book, and fuel costs are often the reason they fall apart. A carrier simply won’t move your vehicle if the payout doesn’t cover their fuel, driver pay, insurance, and truck maintenance.
At American Auto Shipping, we factor real-time fuel data into every quote we generate. Our system pulls current diesel averages and adjusts pricing so that what you see is what you actually pay. We don’t quote you a fantasy number to win the booking and then come back with a higher price later. That bait-and-switch approach is something I’ve fought against for my entire career in this industry, and fuel cost transparency is a big part of how we do things differently.
So what can you do as a customer? First, understand that fuel prices are largely out of everyone’s control — they’re driven by global oil markets, refinery capacity, government policy, and seasonal demand. Second, if you have flexibility on timing, shipping in the off-season or giving a wider pickup window can help you get better rates. Third, don’t automatically go with the lowest quote. Look for a company that explains their pricing and stands behind it.
The carriers who move your vehicles are small business owners. Most owner-operators are running on thin margins, and fuel is the expense that can make or break their month. When you understand that, transport pricing makes a lot more sense. It’s not arbitrary — it’s math. And in 2025, the math is heavily influenced by what’s happening at the fuel pump.