Outmarket: Every Mile Costs More Now

Near-record diesel and rising food costs are pulling chain sourcing closer to home.

Every truck pulling up to a store right now is carrying something extra: a fuel bill nobody budgeted for. Diesel averaged $6.382 a gallon the week of September 28, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. That’s $2.63 more than a year ago, and just off the record high set the week before. Food isn’t helping either. The USDA Economic Research Service expects beef prices to climb 9.4 percent this year, with restaurant and foodservice prices up 3.5 percent.

Operators are already stretched thin, and some are breaking. Meritage Hospitality Group, which operates 314 Wendy’s restaurants across 15 states, filed for Chapter 11 in September and agreed to close at least 30 locations operating at a loss. Wendy’s itself has been closing hundreds of underperforming stores as part of its turnaround strategy.

So here’s a fair question: if every mile costs more, why is the product traveling so many of them? Some chains are already testing shorter routes. Fresh Thyme Market teamed up with Foodshed.io to bring eight independent farms into six Chicago and Indianapolis stores, with farmers delivering directly to each location. Fresh Thyme calls it its “Farmers Market” program, and it plans to expand next season. The USDA’s most recent Census of Agriculture found farms sold $14.2 billion in local food directly to retailers, institutions, and food hubs, up 33 percent from five years earlier after adjusting for inflation. Direct-to-consumer sales, including farmers markets, came to $3.3 billion. Farmers markets get the photo ops. Chain retailers get the volume.

That math isn’t limited to food. A chain paying more to move product is also paying more to fly in technicians and ship equipment, so a provider who can reach a store in an hour has the edge. Start by figuring out which chain’s locations fall inside your reach. Then lead with what proximity saves them: less freight, faster restocks, quicker service calls. And don’t stop at headquarters. Regional and divisional decision-makers are closest to the stores, so make sure they hear your case too.

That’s where CSG Location IQ comes in. It maps 708,000+ geo-coded retail, grocery, and foodservice locations, refreshed every 30 to 90 days by an in-house research team, and links each one to its headquarters, regional, and divisional records. Add CSG LeadSearch™ and you have the decision-makers behind the stores on your map, with unlimited exports to Excel, CSV, or your CRM.

Your next clients might be just down the road. Find them at chainstoreguide.com.

Sources

U.S. Energy Information Administration, Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Update, September 29, 2026. https://www.eia.gov/petroleum/gasdiesel/

USDA Economic Research Service, Food Price Outlook: Summary Findings, September 25, 2026. https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/food-price-outlook/summary-findings

Fast Company, Wendy’s Is Closing More Stores: See a List of Doomed Locations from a Major Franchisee in Ongoing Bankruptcy, September 2026. https://www.fastcompany.com/91613810/wendys-store-closures-2026-list-of-locations-franchise-bankruptcy

Produce Grower, Foodshed.io and Fresh Thyme Market Bring True Farmers Market Sourcing into Major Retail, January 13, 2026. https://www.producegrower.com/news/foodshedio-and-fresh-thyme-market-bring-true-farmers-market-sourcing-into-major-retail

USDA Economic Research Service, 2022 Census of Agriculture: Agricultural Census Shows Strong Growth in Direct Sales from Farms and Ranches. https://ers.usda.gov/data-products/charts-of-note/108821

USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, 2022 Census of Agriculture, Table 2: Market Value of Agricultural Products Sold. https://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/AgCensus/2022/Full_Report/Volume_1,_Chapter_1_US/st99_1_002_002.pdf