Trucking News · Pennsylvania · November 10, 2026

Pennsylvania Truckers Pay $6.79 for Diesel at Breezewood

By Big Rig Daily Staff

Image caption: Illustration: AI-generated illustration, not a photo of the people, vehicles or places in this story. It shows a truck owner in a cap holding a diesel nozzle at a truck stop fuel island beside a blue semi-truck with a white trailer.

Truckers filling up at the TravelCenters of America truck stop in Breezewood, Pennsylvania, have been paying $6.79 a gallon for diesel, up 16 cents in just two weeks, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported in a story published Nov. 9. The truck stop off the Pennsylvania Turnpike has nine diesel fueling lanes, and nearly 1 million rigs get off the turnpike at the Breezewood gateway each year, according to the turnpike commission.

The $6.79 figure is the pump price at that truck stop. The wider numbers come from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. For the week of Oct. 26, the average price of diesel in the six-state Atlantic region that includes Pennsylvania was $6.49 a gallon, a 10-year high. A year earlier, the average in that region was $2.61.

A small-business industry

Lewie Pugh, executive vice president of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA), told the paper that 52% of the drivers on the road have just one rig. "They don't have the volume or buying power to arrange for fuel discounts," he said. Pugh said diesel costs are now running about $1 per mile. The American Transportation Research Institute put the average fuel expense for motor carriers at 48.1 cents per mile in 2024.

Company drivers whose fleets can negotiate fuel deals say they are more insulated from rising prices, the paper reports. Owner-operators, who own and drive their own trucks, feel each fill-up directly.

Voices from the fuel island

Chris Garner, 54, of Russia, Ohio, fueled up at the Breezewood TA in late October on his way to Minnesota with a trailer full of frozen chicken. A trucker for 20 years, he said he often slows down, sometimes to no more than 64 miles an hour, so his truck burns less fuel. Even so, he said he was "barely breaking even this year." "I got to run like hell just to try to make a living," he said.

Other truckers told the paper similar stories. At a Flying J in Smithton, Junior Jen, 39, of Boston, said a fill-up that cost $1,000 a year ago now costs $1,500. Tyrone Davis, 36, of Atlanta, said his weekly take-home pay had fallen from $5,000 to $3,000 since the summer.

Why surcharges lag

Many freight contracts include fuel surcharges meant to cover rising diesel. According to the report, those surcharges are often paid 30, 60 or even 90 days after the agreements are signed. By then, pump prices may have climbed past the extra money built in to cover them.

Big Rig Daily has covered other parts of the fuel squeeze this fall, including how Pennsylvania's diesel tax ranks among the highest in the country.

FAQ

Is $6.79 the Pennsylvania average?

No. It is the price at the TravelCenters of America truck stop in Breezewood. The Atlantic region average was $6.49 for the week of Oct. 26, according to EIA data cited in the report.

How much does diesel cost per mile now?

OOIDA's Lewie Pugh told the paper diesel is running about $1 per mile.

Why don't fuel surcharges keep up?

The report says surcharges can be paid 30, 60 or even 90 days later, after pump prices have moved again.

How much of the higher cost of diesel do you expect to see in what you pay at the store?

Sources: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, The Progress (syndicated Post-Gazette copy).

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