> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.northernmilemedia.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # USD CAD exchange rate trucking: a weaker loonie at the pump - URL: https://www.northernmilemedia.com/usd-cad-exchange-rate-trucking/ - Published: 2026-09-21T12:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-09-21T06:02:47.000Z - Description: The loonie sits at 1.4002 and diesel at 267.1 cents a litre. What the USD CAD exchange rate means for Canadian trucking fuel costs this week. - Author: Northern Mile Media - Tags: Canadian Trucking, Diesel Prices, Fuel Costs, Cross Border, Exchange Rate The loonie is at 1.4002 against the US dollar. That was the Bank of Canada reading on September 18, and it moved 0.10 percent. Diesel sits at 267.1 cents a litre nationally, per the Natural Resources Canada weekly survey printed September 15\. The USD CAD exchange rate trucking story lives in the gap between those two numbers. Two things set what you pay for fuel. The price of the barrel in American dollars, and what your Canadian dollars are worth when you buy it. This week the barrel price is steady and the dollar is leaning the wrong way for anyone filling up with loonies. ## USD CAD exchange rate trucking costs, and what drives them Start at the pump, because it is the biggest single line on a cost sheet. The national average is 267.1 cents a litre. Quebec runs highest at 296.3\. The Northwest Territories runs lowest at 213.8\. That is an 82.5 cent spread inside one country, and it has nothing to do with how far the fuel travelled. | Market | Diesel, cents per litre | | ------------------------- | ----------------------- | | National average | 267.1 | | Quebec | 296.3 | | Newfoundland and Labrador | 282.3 | | British Columbia | 277.7 | | Ontario | 261.0 | | Alberta | 243.1 | | Northwest Territories | 213.8 | Source: Natural Resources Canada weekly diesel survey, printed September 15. ![Provincial diesel prices against the national index, per the NRCan weekly survey.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c4/76/c476aa94-d18a-4e60-a7a9-d463d9af9e17/content/images/size/w720/format/webp/2026/09/provincial-spread-5.png) *Provincial diesel prices against the national index, per the NRCan weekly survey.* Read that table as routing advice. A carrier running Ontario into Quebec is buying at 261.0 on one side of the line and 296.3 on the other. A carrier based in Alberta is buying at 243.1\. The spread is the largest lever most fleets have that does not require renegotiating a single contract. The city-level pages break it down further, including [Montreal at the top of the range](https://dashboard.northernmilemedia.com/diesel-prices/quebec/montreal/?ref=northernmilemedia.com) and [Calgary near the bottom](https://dashboard.northernmilemedia.com/diesel-prices/alberta/calgary/?ref=northernmilemedia.com). Now the currency leg, which is where the loonie earns its keep in this story. ## Why a weak loonie lands on your fuel bill Diesel is priced in US dollars on the wholesale market. Carriers buy it with Canadian dollars. The Bank of Canada has the rate at 1.4002, up 0.10 percent, and the [exchange rate module](https://dashboard.northernmilemedia.com/exchange-rate/?ref=northernmilemedia.com) carries it live. That means every US-dollar purchase takes more Canadian money out of the account than it did with a stronger loonie, even when the wholesale price itself has not budged. ![The Canadian dollar against the US dollar, recent observations.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c4/76/c476aa94-d18a-4e60-a7a9-d463d9af9e17/content/images/size/w720/format/webp/2026/09/fx-trend-5.png) *The Canadian dollar against the US dollar, recent observations.* The catch is timing. Fuel delivered this week was contracted and priced before the move. A dollar shift shows up at the retail pump on a lag, not on the same morning. So the 0.10 percent move you see today is not today's pump price. It is a cost that is already in the pipeline. That cuts both ways if you run cross-border. Revenue on a US lane arrives in American dollars. Fuel on that lane is also bought in American dollars. The exchange rate mostly washes out on the through cost, and it stops washing out the moment you fuel on the Canadian side or pay a Canadian driver, a Canadian shop, or a Canadian insurer out of US revenue. Running south is a currency position whether you meant to take one or not. The EIA has US diesel at $6.285 a gallon in its latest published reading. That is the number your US counterparts are working from, and it is the number that shows up on the other side of a rate negotiation. ## The border is quiet, which is the good news ![Current commercial wait times at CBSA-reported crossings.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c4/76/c476aa94-d18a-4e60-a7a9-d463d9af9e17/content/images/size/w720/format/webp/2026/09/border-rank-5.png) *Current commercial wait times at CBSA-reported crossings.* CBSA reported nine crossings live. Two are showing delay. Pacific Highway is running 5 minutes and the [Peace Bridge](https://dashboard.northernmilemedia.com/border-wait-times/peace-bridge/?ref=northernmilemedia.com) is running 4 minutes. Neither is a problem for a driver, and four minutes does not change a routing decision. The rest are clear. Ambassador Bridge, Blue Water Bridge, Queenston-Lewiston, Lacolle and Coutts-Sweetgrass all reported no delay. ## What to do with this Fuel where the spread favours you. The gap between 243.1 and 296.3 is the widest single lever on the board this week, and it is a routing question, not a negotiation. Watch the level, not the daily tick. A 0.10 percent move is noise. The 1.4002 level is the thing that compounds across a fleet's annual fuel spend. Keep the border in your planning anyway. Four clear crossings and two small delays is a good week, and it will not stay that way through a holiday weekend. ## The bottom line The USD CAD exchange rate trucking picture for this week is a weak loonie sitting on top of a wide provincial diesel spread. Neither number is a crisis. Both are levers, and both are published, which means neither is a surprise you have to absorb. Run your own lanes through the dashboard. The [fuel cost calculator](https://dashboard.northernmilemedia.com/fuel-cost-calculator/?ref=northernmilemedia.com) will take your kilometres and your consumption and show what the spread actually means on your routes. --- Sources: Natural Resources Canada weekly diesel survey, Bank of Canada (Valet API), Canada Border Services Agency border wait times, US Energy Information Administration. Methodology and data notes are published at https://dashboard.northernmilemedia.com/methodology/nmdi/.