20 to 30 percent of the cost of every item in the grocery store is the cost of transportation.
Posted by Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov, Checked
- Sources
- 2 contradict2 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 50%
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica TarlovOct 27, 2026
The claim that transportation is 20 to 30 percent of the cost of every grocery item is not supported by the sources. The CRS report puts transportation at about 3.3% of the marketing bill, and a grocery-operations paper puts transportation at 10-15% of store operating costs, both well below the claimed range, though neither measures the same share exactly.
What was said
… And for him to say, I mean, to be fair, American oil companies are making a lot of money, Albertans making a lot of money. It's a transfer of wealth from every American citizen. Supposedly, 20 to 30% of the cost of every item in the grocery store is what it costs to get it there, so obviously diesel fuel impacts absolutely everything. That came across as just, so you could even see the audience looking around, like, well, okay, uh, nobody here is making a lot of money. We just know we're spending a lot of money. …
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Contradicts. A CRS report on farm-to-food marketing costs lists transportation at 3.3% of the marketing bill, an order of magnitude below the claimed 20-30% share of retail price.[2]
Contradicts. A grocery logistics paper estimates transportation costs at 10-15% of total grocery store operating costs, below the claimed 20-30% range and measured on a different base.[4]
Context. USDA ERS reports that value added through transportation, processing, wholesaling and retailing together make up about three-fourths of fruit and vegetable retail prices, a combined figure that does not isolate transportation.[3]
Context. The Reuters piece reports rising truck freight costs in September 2026 but gives no share of retail prices attributable to transportation.[1]
Context. No fact-checker or authoritative source examined this specific 20-30% figure; the only sources are background estimates on related but different measures.
Sources
4 sources: 1 fact-checker, 2 primary, 1 not rated
- 1Diesel's surge is starting to push other prices around. Here's howreuters.com · fact-checker · cited for: context
- 2Farm-to-Food Price Dynamics - Congress.govcongress.gov · primary source · cited for: contradicts
- 3Price Trends Are Similar for Fruits, Vegetables, and Snack ...ers.usda.gov · primary source · cited for: context
- 4[PDF] Optimizing food transportation processes for grocery stores across ...wjarr.com · not rated · cited for: contradicts
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post