3 Strategies to Stay Ahead of the Diesel Price Spike

Ports and ships in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman have been attacked over the following weeks, closing the Strait of Hormuz and trapping goods inside the Persian Gulf. As we enter the third week of war between the United States and Iran, what can logistics providers do to stay ahead of rising costs?

According to the International Energy Agency, “nearly 34% of global crude oil trade, passed through the Strait of Hormuz [in 2025].” The price of diesel spiked 24.7% between the weeks of March 2, 2026, and March 9, 2026.

[embed]Average Diesel Fuel Prices for the United States — Week Over Week. Date range: January 5-March 9, 2026.

“The brands winning right now aren’t the ones obsessing over fuel efficiency tactics. They’re the ones who understand carrier diversification.”

- Joe Spisak, CEO of Fulfill.com

Owners of various logistics services have provided valuable insights on maintaining capacity without increasing fuel costs: improving route efficiency, increasing load consolidation, and leveraging intermodal connections to maintain resilience.

1. Don’t Cut Routes

“Route cuts are the wrong question,” says CEO of Fulfill.com, Joe Spisak. “Smart logistics companies are optimizing density, not cutting routes. We’re seeing 3PLs consolidate shipments heading to the same metro areas and shift to zone-skipping strategies where they truck pallets to regional hubs then hand off to final-mile carriers. That cuts long-haul diesel burn significantly.”

Operations Director of Barrington Freight, Simon Poole, has said, “At present, we’ve already seen services to and from the Middle East suspended, but we’re not anticipating wider route cuts beyond that. Many carriers are instead managing the situation through disruption or fuel surcharges so they can maintain service coverage.”

2. Maximize Load Consolidation

For companies focusing on less-than-truckload (LTL) shipments, consolidation is essential for keeping costs down. President & Co-Owner, Jake Bean, of Western Wholesale Supply said: “When diesel spiked above $5/gallon, we got serious about load consolidation, batching deliveries by zone and day rather than running partial trucks on demand.”

“Fuel tip: Use LCL space ($160/foot, min 3ft) for partial loads or consolidate air parcels into sea for bulk, slashing per-item fuel burn by 50%+ on heavier shipments.”

- Marzena Beltek, General Manager of Doma Shipping & Travel

Logistics providers are focusing on full loads to make the best use of their fuel. General Manager of Doma Shipping & Travel, Marzena Beltek, says: “With over 30 years [of] shipping sea containers from Chicago to Gdynia, we’ve navigated diesel hikes by prioritizing full loads — packing sedans ($1375) or SUVs ($1475) alongside parcels to spread fuel costs across volume.”

3. Utilize Intermodal and Multi-modal Networks

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz is forcing logistics providers to switch from sea shipping to over-the-road trucking or air cargo. With air cargo rates climbing faster than rail or trucking, leveraging multiple shipping methods ensures the best savings.

Albert Brenner, Co-Owner of Altraco, is pushing for more nearshoring opportunities. “Sea cargo firms are hedging via carrier contracts and port shifts, much like we diversified factories post-tariffs to cut trans-Pacific exposure. This impacts us by lifting import costs 10–15%, but we pass minimal hikes through diversified sourcing from Vietnam and Mexico.”

“No route cuts expected; instead, we’re accelerating Mexico shifts for shorter West Coast hauls. Tip: Build multi-country supplier networks — our clients saved 12% on logistics via this, per Vistage data on tariff pivots.”

No Relief for Rising Fuel Costs

The US Energy Information Administration and its most recent forecast predict the price of crude oil to remain high. “We forecast the Brent crude oil price will remain above $95/b over the next two months, before falling below $80/b in the third quarter of 2026 and around $70/b by the end of the year.”

Rising fuel prices will impact logistics providers into the foreseeable future. Building multi-modal networks, consolidating shipments, and increasing route efficiency will be the primary tools for reducing fuel costs.