Title: Diesel Price Hits Record High. An Export Ban Is on the Table.
Publication: Barron's (Energy)
Author: Avi Salzman
Date: 2026-09-16 (Wednesday; the article's price and stock moves are dated "Wednesday")
URL: https://www.barrons.com/articles/diesel-price-stocks-energy-exports-aaff88d7
Tickers tagged: JBHT
Length: short news article (written article — no timestamps)
Note: Written article, so there are no (mm:ss) cues. This file is a STRUCTURED DIGEST of the
      article — facts, figures, attributions and a few short quoted phrases — rather than the full
      verbatim body, because the piece is copyrighted Dow Jones material (same convention as
      wsj/archive/2026-sep-14). Read the original at the URL above.

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KEY POINTS (Barron's summary)
- The wars in Iran and Ukraine have driven diesel to a record; the U.S. average pump price is
  $6.31 a gallon (AAA).
- U.S. refineries are running near full capacity.
- A Senate leader is open to discussing a diesel export ban.

THE DAMAGE — farmers, truckers, heating-oil households, and stocks
- Record diesel is hitting farmers, truckers and heating-oil consumers, and weighing on stocks.
- J.B. Hunt Transport Services (JBHT) said late Tuesday that soaring diesel and other costs would
  cut third-quarter profit by 5% to 10% versus the second quarter. CFO Brad Delco described "some
  of the most radical and abnormal swings in fuel prices" the company has seen. Shares fell 13%
  Wednesday.
- Farmers are facing double-digit percentage diesel price increases during harvest.

THE NUMBERS
- Diesel at a record $6.31/gal Wednesday: up 37 cents in a week and 86 cents in a month; $3.70 a
  year ago.
- Patrick De Haan (GasBuddy): several states could see $7 diesel soon.
- Heating oil: the average household is expected to pay about $2,520 this winter versus $1,749 last
  winter (Mark Wolfe, National Energy Assistance Directors Association).

THE CAUSE — a supply-demand mismatch
- The Iran war cut crude and fuel shipments out of the Middle East.
- Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries knocked out millions of barrels a day of fuel output, and
  Russia restricted its fuel exports — leaving a global deficit.
- U.S. diesel exports ran 1.61 million b/d in the latest week versus a 1.25 million b/d average last
  year.
- U.S. refineries are near full capacity and cannot ramp much further; U.S. distillate inventories
  are about 13% below last year.

THE POLICY RESPONSE — an export ban on the table
- Liz Thomas (SoFi), on X: the odds of a diesel export ban being announced before the midterms
  "is high."
- Senate Majority Leader John Thune is open to discussing a ban.
- The U.S. has banned crude exports in the past but has never banned diesel exports.
- Oil producers argue a ban would distort global markets and eventually lead producers to curb
  supply — raising prices.

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