Fuel Surcharge

The fuel surcharge is a floating adjustment layered on top of a carrier’s base linehaul rate to account for changing diesel prices. Rather than rewriting base tariffs every time fuel moves, carriers publish an FSC that rises and falls with the market.

Most LTL fuel surcharges are tied to the U.S. Department of Energy’s weekly national diesel average and expressed as a percentage of the linehaul charge. As diesel prices climb, the surcharge percentage climbs with them.

Because it is a standard, expected component of freight pricing, an accurate quote always folds the current fuel surcharge into the all-in rate.