Fuel Surcharge Calculator
Work out a fuel surcharge the way your contract does: per-mile from price and MPG, or a step table in cents per mile or percent of linehaul.
The numbers filled in are an example, with today's EIA U.S. diesel average as the current price. Replace them with your contract's terms.
Fuel surcharge formulas are set by each shipper, broker or contract. Pick the one your rate confirmation or agreement uses.
Most contracts use the weekly DOE/EIA diesel average named in the agreement.
Usually loaded miles, as your contract defines them.
Needed for the % method; otherwise shows the surcharge as a % of linehaul.
Fuel surcharge
A Texas Solutions dispatcher negotiates every rate and plans lanes around your cost per mile. Semi trucks 5%, hotshots 8%, box trucks 10% of weekly gross. You approve every load.
What does the Fuel Surcharge Calculator do?
Free trucking fuel surcharge calculator: base and current fuel price, agreed MPG and miles give surcharge per mile and total, using the per-mile, step-table or percentage method in your contract.
How the fuel surcharge is calculated
- Per-mile method: surcharge per mile = (current price − base price) ÷ agreed MPG
- Step table, cents per mile: steps = (current − base) ÷ step size, counted per your contract; surcharge per mile = steps × cents per step
- Step table, percent: surcharge % = steps × % per step; surcharge per mile = linehaul rate × surcharge %
- Total surcharge = surcharge per mile × applicable miles
Units: prices in dollars per gallon, MPG in miles per gallon, miles as defined by your contract (often loaded miles). The current price fills in from the latest U.S. Energy Information Administration weekly U.S. on-highway diesel average, with its week shown. Your contract may name a regional average or a different day, so type the figure it uses. If fuel is below base, most contracts pay no surcharge; some apply a credit.
A contract uses a $4.00 base price and 6 MPG. This week's index price is $5.20, and the load has 1,000 loaded miles.
- Per-mile method: ($5.20 − $4.00) ÷ 6 = $0.20 a mile, or $200 for the trip
- A step table paying 1 cent a mile for every $0.06 above base gives the same: $1.20 ÷ $0.06 = 20 steps × $0.01 = $0.20 a mile
- On a $2.50 a mile linehaul, $0.20 is 8% of linehaul
Frequently asked questions
How is a trucking fuel surcharge calculated?
The most common method takes the current fuel price minus the base price in the contract, divides it by an agreed MPG, and pays the result per mile. With a $4.00 base, a $5.20 current price and 6 MPG, the surcharge is $0.20 a mile. Other contracts use a step table in cents per mile or a percentage of linehaul for each price step.
Which fuel price does a fuel surcharge use?
Whatever the contract names. Many use the U.S. Energy Information Administration (DOE/EIA) weekly on-highway diesel average, national or regional, for a set day of the week. This calculator fills in the latest EIA U.S. average with its date, and you can type the exact figure your contract uses.
Is there one standard fuel surcharge formula?
No. Base price, MPG, price index, step size and which miles count all vary by shipper, broker and agreement. Use the method in your own contract; this tool supports the common per-mile and step-table methods so you can check what you are paid.
Is the fuel surcharge subject to my dispatch or factoring fee?
That depends on your agreements. In the load profitability calculator you can choose whether each fee applies to other pay such as fuel surcharge.
Related calculators
MPG, fuel cost per mile and diesel prices by state.
Dispatch and factoring fees, deadhead and return miles, estimated profit and the rate you need.
Eligible detention hours and estimated pay from arrival, release, free time and your agreed rate.
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