High Fuel Prices Squeeze Tire Shops From Both Sides

A customer’s tire budget and a distributor’s diesel bill face pressure from the same energy market. Federal data helps explain why that pressure extends beyond the price of crude oil.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that third-quarter gasoline refining margins more than doubled from a year earlier, while diesel and jet fuel margins nearly tripled. These spreads measure the difference between crude and wholesale fuel prices; they are not refiners’ net profits. Disrupted global refining activity has tightened fuel supplies, increasing costs for businesses moving tires and drivers buying them.

Diesel deserves particular attention. U.S. distillate inventories, which include diesel and heating oil, stood 13% below their five-year average in late September. That adds context to delivery expenses and conversations with distributors about order sizes, routes and pickup options.

Meanwhile, the tire industry faces a softer shipment outlook. As Tire Review reported, the U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association projects replacement passenger and light truck tire shipments will each decline 1.6% in 2026. It forecasts a steeper 7.1% decline for replacement truck tires. Those figures track shipments into the market, rather than purchases at individual service counters, and do not establish fuel prices as the cause.

Manufacturing costs also follow their own timeline. Goodyear says approximately two-thirds of its raw materials are petroleum-based and has explained that commodity-price changes can take one to two quarters to reach its financial results. That helps explain why cheaper crude does not automatically translate into cheaper tires.

Watch the video above as we connect energy costs with the decisions dealers face: managing deliveries, presenting affordable replacement options and following up on postponed work. Heading into 2027, shops must consider both the expense of supplying tires and customers’ ability to pay for them.