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Fuel Surcharge Calculator
Work out a fuel surcharge from the base price in your contract and this week's diesel price — per mile and miles per gallon, per km and litres per 100 km, or as a European diesel floater.
Your contract
Your contract sets the method, the base price and the fuel economy or share.
Also called the peg. Union Pacific's truckload table pegs it at USD 1.20.
US contracts mostly use the EIA's weekly US on-highway diesel average — USD 6.199 for 5 October 2026.
- Surcharge rate
- 0.714 per mile
- Diesel above the base price
- 416.6%
In the currency of your prices. A carrier's table moves in steps, so it can come out a step below this.
The formulas
Per mile = (this week's price − base price) ÷ miles per gallon · Per km = (this week's price − base price) × litres per 100 km ÷ 100 · For a trip, multiply by its distanceThe method the University of Wisconsin–Madison's contract clauses describe: subtract the baseline from the price per gallon, divide by the vehicle's average miles per gallon, multiply by the trip miles.
Diesel floater: surcharge = freight price × fuel share × (this week's price − base price) ÷ base priceGirteka's formula, with a fuel share of 32%. France writes the same method into its transport code: the fuel part of the price moves with the change in the diesel index.
Worked examples
Union Pacific's truckload table pegs diesel at USD 1.20 a gallon and adds a cent a mile for every 7 cents above it — the same as dividing by 7 miles per gallon. At USD 6.52 a gallon it charges USD 0.76 a mile: (6.52 − 1.20) ÷ 7 = 0.76. A 500-mile trip at that rate carries USD 380.
Girteka's published example: a base of EUR 1.155 a litre, a current price of EUR 1.629 — 41.04% higher — and a fuel share of 32% turn a EUR 1,000 freight price into EUR 1,131.32, a surcharge of EUR 131.32.
Where this week's price comes from
- US: the EIA's weekly US on-highway diesel average — Monday's price, published on Tuesday around 10 am Eastern, or on Wednesday after a federal holiday.
- EU: the European Commission's Weekly Oil Bulletin — each country's consumer prices with and without taxes, sent out on Thursdays. Girteka reads its EU27 average with taxes.
- Germany: some forwarders use the Federal Statistical Office's index of diesel sold to large buyers instead — DSV's diesel floater does.
When the answer misleads
When your contract adds rules the formula leaves out. Tables move in steps — Union Pacific's by a cent per full 7 cents — so a carrier's figure can be a step below the formula. Some floaters only move once diesel has shifted by more than a threshold, 4% for Girteka. And a contract may use a regional price, a monthly average or its own base. Read the clause, then use its numbers here.
FAQ
Fuel Surcharge Calculator: common questions
- How do I calculate a fuel surcharge per mile?
- Subtract the base price in your contract from this week's diesel price and divide by the fuel economy in miles per gallon. At USD 6.52 against a USD 1.20 peg and 7 mpg, that is USD 0.76 a mile; multiply by the trip's miles.
- Which diesel price do US fuel surcharges use?
- Most use the EIA's weekly US on-highway diesel average, which gives Monday's price and is published on Tuesday — Wednesday after a federal holiday. Some contracts use one of the EIA's regional averages instead.
- How does a European diesel floater work?
- The freight price moves with diesel in proportion to fuel's share of it. With a 32% share, a 10% rise in diesel adds 3.2% to the freight price. Girteka reads the price from the EU's Weekly Oil Bulletin.
- Is there a fuel surcharge when diesel is below the base price?
- Not under most tables — Union Pacific's charges none below its peg. Some contracts work both ways and subtract an amount when fuel falls, so check yours.
Sources
- Fuel surcharge contract clauses — University of Wisconsin–Madison Purchasing Services
- Truckload fuel surcharge matrix — Union Pacific Railroad Supply, January 2024
- Gasoline and diesel fuel update — US Energy Information Administration
- Gasoline and diesel fuel update, release schedule — EIA
- Weekly Oil Bulletin — European Commission, DG Energy
- Fuel floater — Girteka
- Indexation carburant: Code des transports, articles L3222-1 and L3222-2 — DREAL Normandie, April 2022
- Diesel floater, formerly Schenker — DSV Germany
Related terms
On Traqo: Freight Settlement matches every invoice to its LR and POD before it is paid.