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Fuel surcharge calculator
Work out the fuel surcharge on a load from the diesel price, the base price in the schedule and your truck's MPG - then see whether it actually covers the diesel that load will burn, deadhead included.
- Per mile and per load
- Checks it against your real fuel bill
- Counts the deadhead
How a fuel surcharge is worked out
Almost every schedule in the country is the same three-step sum:
Surcharge per mile = (diesel price − base price) ÷ MPG
Then: surcharge per mile × the load's miles.
Diesel at $3.95, a base of $1.25 and 6 MPG gives (3.95 − 1.25) ÷ 6 = $0.45 a mile. On 900 miles that is $405 on top of the linehaul. If diesel sits below the base price, the surcharge is zero - that is what the base is for.
The diesel price in the sum is usually the Department of Energy's weekly average, either national or for your region, and most schedules update every Monday. Which one the broker uses is worth knowing, because regional averages can differ by a lot from the national one.
The three numbers brokers vary
- The base price. The lower it is, the more surcharge you get at the same diesel price. A base of $1.25 and a base of $2.00 are a 12-cent-a-mile difference at 6 MPG - $108 on a 900-mile load.
- The MPG. The schedule's MPG is an assumption, not your truck. A schedule written at 7 MPG pays less per mile than one at 6, and if your truck really does 5.8 the gap comes out of your pocket.
- Which miles count. Loaded miles only, in nearly every case. Deadhead to get to the load burns real diesel and earns no surcharge.
That is why this calculator asks for your real MPG and your deadhead as well: the surcharge is calculated on the schedule's terms, but the fuel is bought on yours.
Reading it on the rate confirmation
A rate con may show the surcharge as its own line, fold it into one all-in rate, or reference a schedule you have to go and look up. All three are normal. What matters is that you can tell which you are getting, because an all-in rate that looks generous may contain no surcharge at all - and when diesel moves, it will not move with it.
Whatever the shape, bill it the way the rate con states it. More on that: reading a rate confirmation and how to invoice a broker.
Common questions
What base price is normal?
There is no single standard. Older schedules peg around $1.20-$1.25 a gallon because that is roughly where diesel sat when the practice became common; plenty of newer ones peg higher. Ask what the base is before you take the load - it is as negotiable as the rate.
Should the surcharge be a percentage instead?
Some brokers quote a percentage of linehaul. It is simpler but it tracks the rate rather than the diesel price, so it is a worse hedge: when fuel spikes on a cheap lane, a percentage pays you less exactly when you need more.
Does the surcharge count as revenue?
Yes. It is part of what the broker pays you for the load and belongs on the invoice and in your books. It is not a reimbursement.
Why does the calculator ask for my real MPG?
So it can compare two different things: what the schedule pays, and what the diesel for that trip will actually cost you at your own fuel economy, including the empty miles. Those are rarely the same number.
Linehaul and surcharge,
on their own lines.
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