Benchmark diesel falls below $5 as a Supreme Court ruling reshapes broker liability

The national benchmark diesel price fell below $5 a gallon, FreightWaves reported, easing the biggest variable cost for carriers heading into summer. USDA's regional table put California at the top and the Gulf Coast at the bottom, the usual spread that decides where fleets fuel when they have a choice. Cheaper diesel is the rare break in an otherwise messy week for freight.

The broker shakeup

A Supreme Court decision, paired with White House action, changed the legal exposure for freight brokers and the NVOCCs and customs brokers alongside them. Industry groups are pressing FMCSA after the ruling expanded the liability risk brokers carry for carrier safety. Brokers move a large share of truckload freight, so a shift in who is on the hook for a bad carrier ripples into rates and contract terms. Expect tighter carrier vetting and more paperwork.

Labor and the border

Washington revoked about 20,000 visas for Mexican truckers as the cabotage crackdown widened. Pull that many drivers off cross-border lanes and capacity tightens on the routes that feed US distribution. Separately, lawmakers moved to close a loophole on altering hours-of-service records, and decades-old federal monitoring of the Teamsters is ending.

Supply and theft

Cargo thieves are following the AI boom, targeting high-value electronics loads, and a World Cup theft showed how small security gaps become big losses. On the supply side, Russia is weighing a diesel export ban as Ukrainian strikes hit its refineries, a move that could tighten global distillate. CSX opened its $495 million Baltimore intermodal tunnel, adding rail capacity on the East Coast.

What to watch

Watch how brokers and FMCSA respond to the new liability picture, since the cost lands in freight rates. Track diesel against a possible Russian export ban that could reverse the slide. And keep an eye on cross-border capacity as the visa revocations work through the Mexican trucker pool.