Fuel-price protection, explained.
When diesel spikes, Hedjee pays you the difference. Here’s why that matters, how it works, what it costs, and when it pays.
1 Why it matters
A fuel spike doesn’t just cost you a month.
It can cost you the next truck.
A good year buys the next truck, and that truck earns next year. Lose a year to a spike and the gap keeps growing.
What the research says
Steadier cash. More room to grow.
Companies that protect themselves from price swings (what finance calls hedging) keep investing more steadily when their cash flow rises and falls. The chart is an example of that idea.
- SecurityA spike doesn’t have to sink you. If your protected gallons end up costing more than the price you picked, Hedjee pays the difference.
- A budget you can trustKnow the most your protected fuel can cost before you quote a load, so you can keep your rates steady.
- Peace of mindWorry less about pump prices. Plan payroll and the truck note without guessing at diesel.
- Worst-case protectionIn a big spike, your protected gallons are covered above your price, with no cap on what Hedjee pays.
Source: Deshmukh & Vogt, Journal of Corporate Finance (2005).
Five reasons, with the numbers
Diesel nearly doubled in 2026.
In one week of March it jumped 96¢ a gallon. Nobody can tell you when the next spike will hit, and the trucks still need fuel the next morning.
$3.46 to $6.53a gallon of U.S. average diesel, January 12 to September 21, 2026Source: EIA weekly diesel prices
There’s almost no cushion.
Fuel is one of the biggest costs of running a truck, and the profit left over is thin. If your rates don’t keep up, a spike that lasts a few months can wipe it out.
Under 1%profit on every dollar billed by truckload and reefer carriers in 2025: less than a pennySource: ATRI trucking cost report, 2026
Your surcharge doesn’t catch all of it.
A fuel surcharge isn’t meant to cover all your fuel, and it rides on each load’s rate, so empty miles usually earn none of it. Keep yours: Hedjee pays on top of it, never instead of it.
16.7%of miles were driven empty, on average, by the carriers in ATRI’s 2024 dataSources: ATRI trucking cost report, 2025; OOIDA fuel surcharge guide
Big fleets already protect their fuel price.
Sysco, US Foods and Performance Food Group all do it and say so in their annual reports. The tools are built for buyers their size: a standard diesel contract is 42,000 gallons.
About 87 milliongallons of Sysco’s diesel protected through June 2028Sources: Sysco 2026 annual report (10-K); CME diesel contract size
Airlines that protected fuel kept investing.
Airlines burn fuel like trucks do. A study found US airlines that protected their fuel price were valued higher, mostly because they could keep investing when fuel got expensive.
Up to 10%higher company value for US airlines that protected their fuel (1992–2003)Source: Carter, Rogers & Simkins (2006)
2 How it works
Three steps.
Nothing changes at the pump.
You pick a price for your fuel. If you end up paying more than that on average, Hedjee pays you the difference.
Pick your gallons and your price.
Choose how many gallons to protect, the most you want to pay a gallon (your price), and for how long (your period, say a month).
Pay a small fee, then fill up as usual.
The fee on each gallon, paid up front, is the only thing you pay. Keep your fuel card, your stations and your fuel surcharge.
If you paid more than your price, Hedjee pays the difference.
When your period ends, if you paid more than your price on average for your protected gallons, Hedjee pays you the difference on each one.
What it costs
A small fee per protected gallon; on a free call we price your own gallons. For example, you protect 1,000 gallons at $4.00 for one month at 5¢ a gallon ($50), then diesel jumps $1 to $5.00.
- Fuel: 1,000 gal at $5.00
- $5,000
- Fee: 5¢ × 1,000 gal
- + $50
- Payment after the period ends: $1.00 × 1,000 gal
- − $1,000
- Net cost in this example
- $4,050 ($950 less than without protection)
Book a call We’ll price your own gallons on the call.
When it pays, and when it doesn’t
- It pays when your period ends and you paid more than your price on average for your protected gallons, like the $1 jump above. There’s no cap on the payment.
- There’s no margin account and no cash deposit. The fee is the only thing you pay.
- In a calm month it doesn’t pay, and the fee ($50 here) is all you’ve spent.
Common questions
What if diesel doesn’t rise?
You’ve paid the fee and nothing else. Your fuel budget was protected the whole time, the same way insurance is worth having in a month nothing goes wrong.
Do I need to predict where diesel is going?
No. Protection is for the spikes nobody sees coming. Pick how big a jump your business can absorb and protect against the rest.
Good questions to bring to a call:
- What do I pay, now and later? Any other fees?
- Which gallons, dates and fuel purchases does it cover?
- What triggers a payment, how big can it get, and when does it pay nothing?
- When does the money arrive, and who pays it?
- What if I burn less fuel, lose a contract or want out early?
- What cost is still mine after surcharges, other coverage and the fee?
3 Case studies & articles
Real fuel stories.
Guides for your business.
How big companies already protect their fuel price, re-reported from their filings and the news. And what protection means for your kind of business.
Case studies
Sysco · Food distribution
How Sysco locks in its diesel price
Sysco delivers food to restaurants, schools and hospitals. Here’s what locking in its diesel price did when diesel fell, and when it spiked.
Not a Hedjee customer; re-reported from public sources · 1 min read
About 80%of Sysco’s bulk diesel for the year ahead, price locked inSysco 2026 annual report (10-K)