Fuel Surcharge Calculator

How it works

Surcharge per mile = (diesel price − peg price) ÷ contract mpg, usually rounded up in price steps (e.g. every $0.05 = 0.83¢/mi at 6 mpg); per load = per mile × loaded miles

Fuel surcharge programmes pass diesel price swings through to the shipper so the linehaul rate can stay fixed. The contract sets a peg price (often $1.10–1.25, dating from when the schemes began), a fuel-economy assumption (5.5–6.5 mpg for a loaded tractor-trailer) and a step size; each week the DOE national or regional average is compared with the peg and the difference divided by the mpg gives cents per mile. Carriers publish the same thing as a matrix table. The surcharge is intended to cover fuel above the peg, not all fuel, and it is usually paid on loaded miles only — so deadhead and idling are the carrier’s cost, which is why mpg assumptions and regional indices are negotiated hard. LTL carriers instead quote a percentage of the freight bill that moves with the same index.

Worked example

Diesel at $3.85, a $1.25 peg and 6 mpg: $2.60 difference = 52 steps of 5¢ → 43.3¢ per mile, $368 on an 850-mile load — about 18% on top of a $2.40 linehaul. Every 25¢ rise in diesel adds 4.2¢ a mile.

Frequently asked questions