Fuel Surcharge Calculator
How much extra to charge for diesel this week.
Diesel price: EIA, week of Nov 2, 2026
Diesel in is $6.29 a gallon this week. For a -mile load, add $776 fuel surcharge.
Tap the blue boxes to change them
That’s $0.776 per mile.
What this means
Your rate
$2,000
e.g. $2.00/mi
Fuel surcharge
$776
Ask the broker
$2,776
A fuel surcharge is extra money for diesel above the price already in your rate. When diesel goes up, it goes up. How is this calculated?
Fuel is one part of the trip cost. LoadConnect calculates RPM, deadhead, fuel, tolls and profit for every load on your load board — see a worked example.
What is a fuel surcharge?
A fuel surcharge (FSC) is extra money on top of your freight rate. It pays you back when diesel costs more than a set price, called the base price. When diesel goes up, the surcharge goes up. When diesel goes down, it goes down.
Real-life example
You haul 1,000 miles. Your rate is $2,000. Diesel is $6.29 this week. With a $1.25 base and 6.5 MPG, the fuel surcharge is $776.
- Freight rate
- $2,000
- + Fuel surcharge
- $776
- You should get
- $2,776
How to calculate a fuel surcharge
Take this week's diesel price. Subtract the base price. Divide by your miles per gallon. Then multiply by the miles.
Fuel surcharge per mile = (Diesel price − Base price) ÷ MPG
- 01
Find the difference.
Diesel price minus base price.
$6.292 − $1.25 = $5.042per gallon
- 02
Divide by MPG.
Divide the difference by your truck's MPG.
$5.042 ÷ 6.5 = $0.776per mile
- 03
Multiply by miles.
Multiply by loaded miles.
$0.776 × 1,000 = $776for the load
Use loaded miles only (miles with freight). Most contracts don't pay FSC on empty miles.
Fuel surcharge chart for this week
Per mile, with diesel at $6.292 (EIA U.S. average, Nov 2, 2026). Many shippers call this the DOT or DOE fuel surcharge chart.
| Base | 6.0 MPG | 6.5 MPG | 7.0 MPG |
|---|---|---|---|
| $1.25 | $0.84 | $0.78 | $0.72 |
| $2.50 | $0.63 | $0.58 | $0.54 |
| $3.00 | $0.55 | $0.51 | $0.47 |
Higher base price = smaller surcharge. Better MPG = smaller surcharge.
Diesel price by region this week
Where you buy fuel changes your surcharge. Some contracts use a regional price instead of the U.S. average.
| Region | Diesel | FSC / mile* |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. average | $6.292 | $0.78 |
| East Coast | $6.025 | $0.73 |
| Midwest | $6.402 | $0.79 |
| Gulf Coast | $5.912 | $0.72 |
| Rocky Mountain | $6.445 | $0.80 |
| West Coast | $7.272 | $0.93 |
| California | $8.076 | $1.05 |
*At a $1.25 base and 6.5 MPG. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), weekly on-highway diesel prices.
How to get paid your fuel surcharge
- 01
Put it on the rate con.
The rate confirmation (the broker's written load agreement) should say “FSC” and the amount. If it only says “all-in”, fuel is already inside the rate.
- 02
Ask for linehaul and FSC separately.
Say: “$1.85 linehaul plus FSC, $0.78 this week.” If a broker offers $2.60 all-in, subtract $0.78. Your real rate is $1.82 a mile.
- 03
Count empty miles.
Fuel for deadhead (driving empty to the pickup) is not in the surcharge. Add it to your rate yourself.
More on this: 11 rate confirmation mistakes that cost carriers money
See fuel, tolls and real profit on every DAT load
LoadConnect is a free Chrome extension for DAT and Truckstop. Open a load and see the route map, fuel cost, tolls and rate per mile. Check the broker's MC and email them in one click.
- Fuel + tolls for every load
- Real rate per mile, after fuel
- Broker MC check in one click
Works on DAT and Truckstop. No credit card.
Fuel surcharge questions
Diesel prices: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), weekly retail on-highway diesel, published Mondays. This page updates the same week. Numbers are estimates to help you plan, not a quote.