State cost guide · AZ
Running in Arizona.
Arizona is long-haul country with a strong California relationship and summer heat that costs you in tires, fuel economy and equipment.
Diesel & fuel tax
Arizona pickups use the EIA West Coast weekly diesel average in our tools, printed with the week and region.
Diesel is taxed per gallon by the state, and as an interstate carrier you settle it through your quarterly IFTA return rather than at the pump alone. Rates are republished every quarter, so use the current official IFTA rate table for the quarter you are filing instead of any figure quoted on a website.
Arizona diesel typically prices below California but above the Gulf Coast. If you fuel on one side of the state line by habit, check whether the habit still pays.
Tolls
Arizona has essentially no truck toll roads to plan around; the cost variables here are distance and heat, not tolls.
Operating cost
Summer heat raises tire and cooling-related maintenance and reduces fuel economy. If your maintenance-per-mile figure was built from winter data, it is optimistic.
Reefer work across the desert burns fuel that a dry-van cost per mile will not account for. Keep separate numbers if you run both.
Common lanes
- Phoenix → Los AngelesShort, heavily quoted westbound; deadhead to the pickup decides it.
- Phoenix → DallasLong eastbound run; fuel price at both ends affects the net.
- Tucson → El PasoBorder-corridor short haul with wait-time exposure.
- Phoenix → DenverNorthbound with elevation change that hits real MPG.
EIA region used for Arizona pickups: West Coast (PADD 5). Fuel prices in our tools are the EIA weekly on-highway diesel average at the moment you score a load, with the week printed on the report; anything you type yourself overrides it. Fuel-tax rates and toll schedules change — confirm the current quarter's official figures before relying on them.
Want the number for a specific load? X-Ray it free or build your own cost per mile with the free calculator.