Fuel Surcharge

The fuel surcharge is a Federally mandated auxiliary charge levied on all forms of truck transportation; freight, packages, and household goods. The fuel surcharge or FSC was designed to compensate transportation companies for intermittent spikes in fuel pricing so they would not have to constantly reconfigure their tariffs. The fuel surcharge or FSC is based on the national average cost of fuel as reported by the Department of Energy on the 15th of each month. The baseline cost of diesel for the FSC calculation is $2.50 per gallon. The fuel surcharge adds approximately 1% of the line haul amount to the price of the move for every $.10 a gallon increase above $2.50 a gallon. The FSC that is applied on all aspects of the move is the FSC in effect on the date the shipment loads. For example, if diesel prices average $3.00 per gallon, the difference between the baseline amount and the current amount would be $.50 per gallon, therefore the fuel surcharge would be 5%. If the shipment went into storage for three months and the FSC increased, the delivery FSC would be the lower one that in effect when the shipment loaded months before.