WEX® Launches New WEX Index®, Revealing How the Mobility Fleet Sector Navigated the 2026 Fuel Price Surge

Drawing on proprietary data and experience serving 600,000 mobility customers, the report gives fleet benchmarks for fuel spending, risk, and mixed-energy planning

PORTLAND, Maine--(BUSINESS WIRE)--WEX^® (NYSE: WEX), a global leader in intelligent payment solutions, today announced the launch of the WEX Index^®: The fleet and mobility spend report. Pairing WEX proprietary transaction data with the company’s expertise, the analysis shows how commercial fleets managed the 2026 fuel price surge, including where and what type of fuel they bought. The report covers January through September 2026.

WEX data revealed the average U.S. fuel price rose approximately 43% in the third quarter of 2026 compared to a year earlier, increasing from $3.38 to $4.85 per gallon, while gallons pumped stayed essentially flat. The WEX Index shows that fleets absorbed those costs and kept moving anyway. The report examines purchasing decisions leaders can review, including where drivers fuel and which grade they buy, establishing a baseline for fleets to adapt to the challenges of higher fuel prices.

Key findings from The WEX Index include:

• Gallons pumped held steady as prices soared. Average U.S. fuel prices rose while gallons purchased remained essentially flat.
• Some fill-ups cost more than they should. 38.1% of North American commercial fleets paid more than the local WEX Fuel Price Index (FPI) benchmark.
• Premium fuel is a hidden cost. Analysis shows premium fuel accounts for 7.6% of transactions, at an average cost gap of $0.78 per gallon, representing up to $86.9 million in potential savings for vehicles that don’t require that grade.
• External threats are growing too. Industry numbers show phishing attacks increased 1,265% since Q4 2022, when generative AI tools became widely available. Additionally, 81.4% of fleets with five or more drivers had at least one driver spending more on fuel than their fleet average, which is a reason for fleets to closely review transactions.
• EV decisions are best made vehicle by vehicle. In an analysis of 8,798 vehicles, 27% were recommended for EV replacement. As a modeled average, each replacement would save $16,595, or 15% in costs, over the vehicle’s service life.

“Fleets can’t control the price of fuel, but they can control how they respond to it,” said Melissa Smith, chief executive officer and president of WEX. “The WEX Index gives the mobility sector a fixed point of reference built from real transactions by real fleets. With that baseline, fleet managers can see how they compare to their peers, spot risk earlier, and make smarter decisions about everything from fueling habits to building a mixed-energy fleet.”

The WEX Index outlines five practices fleets can use to put the data to work: Set a baseline, compare fueling against the local benchmark, focus on the numbers that matter, assess mixed-energy options, and revisit the baseline as conditions change. It is intended as the first in a series, with future editions comparing against this baseline so fleets can track their own progress against industry figures.

To bring the Index’s findings to a broader business audience, WEX published an article with Bloomberg Media Studios. The piece looks at how fleets are managing a historic fuel price shock with little room to cut consumption, and how choices about where drivers fuel and which grade they buy can uncover savings. Read the article today on Bloomberg.com.

To download the WEX Index, visit www.wexinc.com/resources/wex-index/.

About WEX

WEX (NYSE: WEX) is the global commerce platform that simplifies the business of running a business. WEX has created a powerful ecosystem that offers seamlessly embedded, personalized solutions for its customers around the world. Through its rich data and specialized expertise in simplifying benefits, reimagining mobility, and paying and getting paid, WEX aims to make it easy for companies to overcome complexity and reach their full potential. For more information, please visit www.wexinc.com.