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Energy Information Administration · · Revised 148 series

U.S. August 2026 crude import costs: landed cost rises to $79.23 a barrel

The landed cost of U.S. crude oil imports, which includes shipping, rose to $79.23 per barrel (bbl) in August from a revised $78.31 in July. It remains well below May's $94.68 peak.

A data update from FactIQ, written from Energy Information Administration figures. What is FactIQ?

Key figures

U.S. landed cost of imported crude oil, August
$79.23/bblagainst a revised $78.31 in July and a $94.68 peak in May2022-09-012026-08-01U.S. Monthly Landed Costs of Crude Oil
U.S. free on board cost of imported crude oil, August
$73.17against $73.34 in July2022-09-012026-08-01U.S. Monthly FOB Costs of Crude Oil
Lower 48 hourly electricity demand peak, Nov 2
482,800 MWhagainst about 471,600 MWh on Nov 12026-10-312026-11-02Hourly Electricity Demand for the Lower 48 United States (UTC Time)

Imported crude cost more in August but stayed well below the May peak

The landed cost measures what U.S. buyers pay for imported crude oil delivered to U.S. ports, including shipping. It shows what refiners pay for foreign oil. Data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) put it at $79.23 per barrel (bbl) in August.

  • July: a revised $78.31
  • June: $81.41
  • May peak: $94.68

The price at the export port eased slightly

The free on board (FOB) cost is the price of crude at the export port, before shipping. It was $73.17 per barrel in August, down from $73.34 in July.

Lower 48 electricity demand rose on November 2

Hourly electricity demand in the Lower 48 states shows how much power the grid has to deliver. Demand peaked at about 482,800 megawatthours (MWh) on Nov 2. On Nov 1 it peaked at about 471,600 MWh. The day-ahead demand forecast for the Lower 48 reaches about 488,300 MWh in later hours of Nov 3.

Earlier months were revised

  • July's landed cost was revised up to $78.31 per barrel. The earlier figure was $77.87.
  • The largest revision was to the June FOB cost of crude with an API gravity of 25.1–30°. API gravity is an industry measure of how light or heavy a crude oil is. That cost was cut from $79.63 to $75.34 per barrel.

Source: Energy Information Administration. See all EIA data in FactIQ.

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