What is a fuel surcharge?

A fuel surcharge is a separate, adjustable charge added to a freight rate to cover the fluctuating cost of diesel, so the base rate does not have to be renegotiated every time fuel prices move.

What diesel price are fuel surcharges based on?

Most shippers and carriers base fuel surcharges on the U.S. EIA weekly retail on-highway diesel price, published every Tuesday. EIA itself does not set or calculate surcharges — it only publishes the price data.

Who sets the fuel surcharge?

Fuel surcharges are negotiated privately between the shipper and the carrier or broker. There is no government-set surcharge; each party agrees on a base peg, a step, and a per-mile increment.

How a Fuel Surcharge Works — WCA Transportations

What a fuel surcharge is

A fuel surcharge is a separate, adjustable line on a freight invoice that covers the fluctuating cost of diesel. Instead of renegotiating the base rate every time fuel moves, both sides agree on a formula that adjusts automatically with the diesel price. When diesel rises, the surcharge rises; when it falls, so does the surcharge.

The anchor is public. Almost every fuel surcharge in U.S. trucking is tied to the EIA weekly on-highway diesel price, published every Tuesday. As of November 2, 2026, the U.S. average is $6.292/gal. EIA publishes the number but does not calculate surcharges — that part is up to the shipper and carrier.

How to calculate one

A fuel surcharge formula has three agreed inputs: a base peg (the diesel price at which the surcharge is zero), a step (how many cents of diesel movement triggers an adjustment), and an increment (how much per mile is added per step). Then:

Take the current EIA diesel price (U.S. average today: $6.292/gal).
Subtract the base peg to get how far diesel is above base.
Divide by the step to get the number of steps.
Multiply the steps by the per-mile increment to get the surcharge per mile.
Multiply by the lane miles for the total fuel surcharge.

Try it with live numbers on our diesel tracker, or see the official price for your region on the diesel price hub.

Who sets the surcharge

No one sets it for the industry. Fuel surcharges are negotiated privately between shipper and carrier (or broker). EIA is explicit that it "does not calculate, assess, or regulate diesel fuel surcharges" — it only publishes the weekly price that nearly everyone's formula references. That's why a transparent, EIA-anchored surcharge is a trust signal: the input is public and verifiable.

Let the software keep the fuel line current

You don't have to maintain a surcharge spreadsheet. With QuickShip, the fuel component stays current against the public diesel price and shows up openly in every rate estimate — so you see the fuel move instead of a vague "market rate," and your team keeps the decision. Related reading: why diesel drives freight rates.

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