Manufacturing News
October 13, 2026
October 13, 2026 · Statewide · Story 2 of 2
Indiana Diesel Prices Climb Toward $7 as Hormuz Shipping Collapses
Indiana's average on-road diesel price reached $6.71 a gallon in September, a 77% jump from $3.79 a year earlier, driven by renewed U.S.-Iran strikes that have again shut down shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. National gasoline climbed 16 cents to $4.02 a gallon this week as crude oil settled near $85 a barrel, and vessel traffic through the strait, which normally carries about a fifth of the world's oil, has dropped to roughly 4 ships a day against a pre-crisis baseline of 85. The federal government's September forecast puts national diesel averaging $5.55 a gallon in the fourth quarter, a number Indiana diesel prices have already passed.
Indiana's average on-road diesel price reached $6.71 a gallon in September, a 77% jump from $3.79 a year earlier, driven by renewed U.S.-Iran strikes that have again shut down shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. National gasoline climbed 16 cents to $4.02 a gallon this week as crude oil settled near $85 a barrel, and vessel traffic through the strait, which normally carries about a fifth of the world's oil, has dropped to roughly 4 ships a day against a pre-crisis baseline of 85.
The federal government's September forecast puts national diesel averaging $5.55 a gallon in the fourth quarter, a number Indiana diesel prices have already passed. Diesel and crude don't move together dollar for dollar, so freight surcharges tied to diesel indexes are likely to keep climbing even if crude eases. Iran is also a major producer of the base oils used in motor lubricants, and that supply chain typically takes longer to recover than crude does, which means plant maintenance lubricant costs could stay elevated well after diesel comes back down.
For your morning huddle
- Q
Do our freight contracts carry fuel-indexed surcharge clauses that will auto-escalate as diesel climbs toward $5.55 this quarter, and have we checked our lubricant/motor oil stock levels given Iran's role in base-oil supply?
Pull your carrier contracts this week and check the surcharge index and reset frequency before the next rate adjustment hits. Indiana diesel prices have already passed the national fourth quarter forecast.
Briefing note
- Impact
- The gasoline headline understates the real manufacturing exposure: EIA's September Short-Term Energy Outlook forecasts diesel averaging $5.55/gallon in Q4 2026, meaning freight surcharges on inbound materials and outbound shipments will keep climbing even if crude eases, because diesel and crude don't move in lockstep. There's also a less-reported second front: Iran is a major producer of base oils used in motor lubricants, and that supply chain has a longer reconstitution timeline than crude, so plant maintenance lubricant costs could stay elevated well after any ceasefire eases pump prices. With Strait of Hormuz transits down to roughly 4 vessels a day in early October against a pre-crisis baseline of 85, this isn't a seasonal fall price dip, it's a geopolitical supply floor that overrides the usual refinery-maintenance pricing pattern Indiana operators are used to planning around.
- Watch
- EIA's next Short-Term Energy Outlook update and daily Strait of Hormuz vessel-transit counts, which will signal whether the $5.55/gallon Q4 diesel forecast holds or worsens.
Sources
- Today’s Gas Prices By State: Average Price Of A Gallon Exceeds $4 · info.oregon.aaa.com
From the brief, October 13, 2026
- United Petfood's $24.2 Million Arkansas Deal Keeps Mishawaka as the Flagship
- Indiana Diesel Prices Climb Toward $7 as Hormuz Shipping Collapses
This story
Related
- AES Indiana Rate Hike Rehearing Gets a March 2027 Date, Your January Bill Doesn't Wait
- Amazon's Greenwood Robotics Plant, AES Indiana Phase 2, Indiana NRC Agreement State, and Samsung SDI New Carlisle: What Indiana Manufacturers Need to Act on Now
- $4 Billion in a Single Day: What Indiana Manufacturers Need to Know About the SK Hynix, Samsung SDI, and RayzeBio Announcements
Manufacturers Energy Grant Program
Free for Indiana manufacturers
Manufacturers from qualifying Indiana counties receive a free monthly 35-point audit of their electric bills for cost recovery and savings. Every line item checked and validated, every opportunity found comes with a step-by-step guide to capture it.
EDCs: sponsor this program and it carries your organization's name For economic developers →