Fuel Surcharge: Diesel Fuel Surcharge
A variable per-mile add-on that passes changes in diesel price through to the freight rate.
A fuel surcharge (FSC) is a separate line-item rate, layered on top of the base linehaul rate, that adjusts as diesel prices move. Most FSC tables are pegged to the U.S. Department of Energy's weekly national average on-highway diesel price, with a base price threshold below which no surcharge applies and a per-cent-per-gallon-increase scale above it.
Who publishes it
Benchmark diesel pricing: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), formerly published under DOE, weekly. FSC tables/scales themselves are set per-carrier or per-contract.
How to read it
- Most FSC tables use a base price (commonly $1.20–$1.25/gallon in legacy tables, though many contracts have since re-based higher) and a fixed increment per $0.06 or $0.01 rise above it.
- Compare a carrier's all-in rate (linehaul + FSC) rather than the base linehaul rate alone — a lower linehaul with an aggressive FSC scale can end up costing more.
- Indices like SONAR's NTI already bake fuel into a single all-in number, which is why NTI and NTIL (linehaul-only) are quoted side by side.
Why it matters
Fuel is the second-largest trucking cost after labor, and a surcharge that isn't benchmarked against a public index is a common place for hidden margin to hide in a quote. Shippers who compare only base linehaul rates across carriers can end up choosing the more expensive option once each carrier's FSC scale is applied.
Frequently asked questions
What diesel price is the fuel surcharge based on?
Most U.S. carrier contracts reference the EIA's (formerly DOE's) weekly national average on-highway diesel price, published every Monday.
Why do two carriers quote different fuel surcharges for the same lane?
Even when both reference the same EIA benchmark, carriers set their own base price threshold and per-increment scale, so two FSC tables can produce different surcharges from the same underlying diesel price.
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