How Sysco locks in its diesel price
Sysco delivers food to restaurants, schools and hospitals. Here’s what locking in its diesel price did when diesel fell, and when it spiked.
Sysco is not a Hedjee customer. This story is re-reported from public sources, linked below.
Sysco’s fleet
About 19,000
Source: Sysco 2026 annual report (10-K)
It sets the price of most of its diesel ahead of time
Source: Sysco 2026 annual report (10-K)
It does this with deals called diesel swaps. If diesel goes above the set price, the other side of the deal pays Sysco the difference. If it goes below, Sysco pays them.
When diesel fell, the deals cost Sysco. When it shot up, they paid Sysco.
What Sysco’s deals really did each year
- Jul 2019–Jun 2020Cost Sysco$22.1 million
- Jul 2020–Jun 2021Cost Sysco$17.5 million
- Jul 2021–Jun 2022Paid Sysco$51.9 million
The solid line is the real U.S. average diesel price each week. The dashed line is only an example: Sysco doesn’t publish the prices it locked in, so the shading shows how the deal works, not the size of each year’s result.
Source: EIA weekly diesel prices; Sysco 2021 annual report (10-K); Sysco 2023 annual report (10-K)
2026: diesel hit a record
Diesel
Feb. 23, 2026
Diesel
Sept. 21, 2026
Record high
+$2.72 a gallon in 7 months
Sept. 21 was the highest weekly price since EIA’s records start in 1994 (not counting inflation).
Source: EIA weekly diesel prices
In June 2025, before the spike, Sysco had set the price on about 85% of the diesel it buys in bulk for the year to June 2026 (2025 annual report).
It still felt some of it. Its fuel surcharges run 90 days behind for customers on contracts, and it doesn’t lock in the fuel used to bring goods in from its suppliers (earnings call).
What it means for your fleet
Big fleets like Sysco lock in the price of much of their diesel ahead of time. Hedjee brings the same kind of protection to a fleet of any size, based on what you actually pay for fuel.
| Compared | SyscoAbout 19,000 trucks and vans | Your fleet, with HedjeeAny size, even one truck |
|---|---|---|
| Who handles it | Its own finance team | Hedjee does it for you. Setup takes about 5 minutes. |
| Diesel spikes | The deal pays Sysco the difference | If what you pay averages above the cap you picked, Hedjee pays you the difference. |
| Diesel falls | Sysco pays the difference | You owe nothing back. The fee per gallon is all you pay. |
| Fuel surcharge | Keeps it | Keep yours. Hedjee pays on top of it. |
Source: Sysco 2026 annual report (10-K); Sysco earnings call, August 4, 2026