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Fuel Surcharge Calculator

Truckload FSC per mile from diesel price, base price and MPG — or LTL fuel surcharge as a percent of linehaul.

PRICING MODEL
FSC PER MILE$0.200 /mi
TOTAL SURCHARGE$100.00over 500 miles
PRICE GAP$1.20current − base, per gallon

Formula: (current diesel − base price) ÷ MPG. Look up this week's national average on the EIA weekly diesel page (published Mondays). Base price and MPG come from your rate agreement — 6.0 MPG is the common default.

Why fuel gets its own line

Fuel is the most volatile cost in trucking, so rates split it out: the linehaul covers everything at an agreed base fuel price, and the fuel surcharge trues up the difference as diesel moves week to week. The truckload formula converts the per-gallon gap into a per-mile figure through the truck's fuel economy; LTL carriers instead publish a matrix that maps the weekly DOE price to a percentage of linehaul. Either way, the surcharge is meant to be a pass-through — checking the math is how you make sure it stays one.

FSC per mile = (current diesel − base price) ÷ MPG
How is a trucking fuel surcharge calculated?

The standard truckload method: subtract the base fuel price in your rate agreement from the current DOE national average diesel price, then divide by the truck's assumed fuel economy (commonly 6.0 MPG). The result is the surcharge per mile, multiplied by the trip's miles.

What base fuel price should I use?

The base (or peg) price is written in your rate confirmation or contract — it's the diesel price already built into the linehaul rate. There is no universal number: older agreements commonly peg near $1.20/gal, newer ones near the price when the contract was signed.

Where does the current diesel price come from?

Most US fuel surcharge schedules reference the EIA/DOE weekly retail on-highway diesel average, published every Monday. Carriers update their surcharge each week from that number — use the same week's figure your carrier uses.

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