Gasoline refining profit margins have surged to roughly $1 per gallon since May, far exceeding last year's peak of around 60 cents per gallon, according to an in-brief analysis published September 4 by the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The elevated crack spreads—indicators of how profitable it is to turn crude oil into gasoline—reflect tight gasoline supplies worldwide. By the Monday before Labor Day, the nationwide average price for regular-grade gasoline reached $4.07 per gallon, with significant regional variation driven by local supply conditions and state tax structures.
Gasoline supplies have been constrained by disruptions to refining operations in Russia, China, and the Middle East, the report states. Since March, total U.S. gasoline imports—both finished product and blending components—have fallen 32% below the five-year average from 2021 to 2025. The East Coast and West Coast, which depend on imports to supplement domestic production, have seen some relief from shipments originating in the U.S. Gulf Coast on vessels operating under limited Jones Act waivers. Distillate fuel oil inventories stood 14% below the five-year average in the week ending August 28, compared to gasoline inventories at 6% below average. Crack spreads for distillate and jet fuel have climbed even higher than gasoline margins—averaging 74 cents per gallon more than gasoline since March at New York Harbor—because the disrupted refineries typically supplied larger volumes of these fuels to global markets.
The tighter global supplies and higher prices have both raised the cost of imported gasoline and boosted demand for U.S. gasoline exports, according to the analysis. U.S. refiners have responded by shifting product yields to maximize output of distillate and jet fuel, capitalizing on the higher crack spreads for those products. International demand for distillate fuel is particularly strong due to lost production from refineries in Russia and the Middle East that generate relatively high yields of distillate, the report finds.
Regional gasoline prices on the Monday before Labor Day ranged from $3.62 per gallon on the Gulf Coast to $5.21 per gallon on the West Coast, the EIA notes. The Rocky Mountains averaged $4.27 per gallon, while the Midwest came in at $3.85 and the East Coast at $3.94. These variations mirror local supply and demand dynamics, state fuel specifications, and state tax policies. With global refining disruptions persisting and U.S. refiners prioritizing distillate and jet fuel production over gasoline, crack spreads are likely to remain elevated as long as international supply constraints continue.