of retail gasoline price driven by crude benchmarks
JONES ACT SHIPS
~100
U.S.-flagged vessels eligible for coastwise trade
ENACTED
1920
Merchant Marine Act — over a century of maritime protection
SHELL Q2 PROFIT SURGE
2×+
year-over-year profit jump as crude benchmarks spiked
GASOLINE PRICE STACK — APPROXIMATE SHARE BY COMPONENT
Hover segments to explore each component. Jones Act shipping premium is highlighted.
CRUDE OIL COST
REFINERY MARGIN
FEDERAL & STATE TAXES
DISTRIBUTION & MARKETING
JONES ACT SHIPPING PREMIUM (EST.)
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
WHY THIS MATTERS
The White House is eyeing a Jones Act waiver to cut gas prices ahead of the 2026 midterms. But crude oil alone accounts for roughly 55 cents of every dollar at the pump — a global benchmark no domestic shipping policy can move. The Jones Act shipping premium runs approximately 1–3¢/gal nationally. Hawaii, Alaska, and Puerto Rico face far steeper burdens, but for most Americans, repealing or waiving the Jones Act tomorrow would produce an effect that vanishes in crude oil's daily price noise. Every president who has reached for this lever has discovered the same arithmetic.