Fuel Surcharges and Calculation

Fuel Surcharges (FSC) work much like accessorial charges. Fuel Surcharges are extra fees allocated to the Load rate to cover varying retail diesel prices. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) provides weekly updates on retail diesel prices to help accurately calculate Fuel Surcharges.

Fuel Surcharges can be automatically applied to Customer Quotes, Customer Invoices, Carrier Quotes, and Carrier Invoices. They can be applied via Rate Entries when setting up stored rates for Customer and Global Transportation Profiles.

Create Fuel Surcharges

To create a Fuel Surcharge schedule, navigate to the TMS Admin → Pricing → Fuel Surcharges. Enter the following fields in the Fuel Surcharge Creation LRP to build an entry table:

Field Name	Field Type	Field Description	Field Options
Name	Text	The title of the created Fuel Surcharge.
Fuel Surcharge Source	Picklist	The location where the Fuel Surcharge is derived from.	TMS Breakthrough Fuel Note: Breakthrough Fuel doesn’t use the Fuel Index object.
Fuel Index	Lookup	The related Fuel Index record used for calculation.
Current Week Start Day	Picklist	The start weekday of the Fuel Surcharge calculation. Note: Regardless of the selected weekday, the range ends on Monday. For example, if Wednesday is selected, the end weekday will always be Monday. This helps in determining which Fuel Index is applied.	Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
Fuel Index Value	Picklist	The date type range, such as week or month, that determines the Fuel Index to use and apply calculation. For example, if this Current Week is selected, the Fuel Index from the current week is calculated using the ship date.	Current Week Prior Week Two-Week Average Three-Week Average Four-Week Average Prior Calendar Month
Fuel Index Start	Text	The starting or lowest pricing point for the diesel fuel schedule.
Fuel Index End	Text	The ending or highest pricing point for the diesel fuel schedule.
Fuel Index Increment	Text	The Fuel Index interval amount applied from entry to entry.
Type	Picklist	The type of Fuel Surcharge table.	Rate per Mile Rate per Kilometer Percent of Line Haul Percent of Line Haul relates to freight charges and is supported for 3 decimal place precision when calculating Fuel Surcharges.
Rate Start	Text	The initial amount for Rate per Mile Fuel Surcharge tables.
Rate Increment	Text	The Rate per Mile interval amount applied from entry to entry.
Auto-Update Quotes/Invoices	Picklist	An option to update Fuel Surcharges on quotes and invoices automatically if the Fuel Index changes. Note: The Fuel Surcharge Source must be TMS and Auto-Update Quotes and Invoices must be Yes in the fuel schedule setup to enable automatic updates to pending quotes and invoices if the Fuel Index changes. Set Auto-Update Quotes and Invoices to No to freeze the fuel surcharge calculations.	Yes No

Once these fields are entered, click Build Entry Table to view the Fuel Surcharge schedule.

Note: The Fuel Surcharge rate on the Customer and/or Carrier Quote is set according to the Load's Expected Ship Date. For Loads with an Expected Ship Date that occurs in the future (beyond the current week), the current fuel rate is used for the Fuel Surcharge rate.

Fuel Surcharge Entry Table Interpretation

The Fuel Surcharge Entry Table is organized by price intervals and displays the following headers:

Entry
1. The Fuel Surcharge entry identifier.
From Value (>=)
1. The lowest national/regional pricing point for retail diesel.
To Value (<)
1. The highest national/regional pricing point for retail diesel.
Rate
1. The rate increment amount.

Fuel Surcharge LRP showing entry table and Fuel Index History.

Change the Fuel Index Increment and Rate Increment fields to see broader or granular entry results. The Fuel Index History table on the right side displays historical retail diesel integrated from the EIA.

Enter a Ship Date to view recommended Fuel Surcharge rates from previous dates.

Note: Although it’s possible to select future dates, keep in mind that the EIA updates the Fuel Index weekly on Monday. Any future dates will include the same price point, and do not forecast future price points.

Fuel Surcharge Calculation

When TMS is selected as the Fuel Surcharge Source, Fuel Surcharges are auto-calculated. Keep in mind that when the Fuel Surcharge Source is Breakthrough Fuel, Fuel Surcharges aren’t automatically calculated in the TMS because they rely on real-time lane data.

The following records are automatically updated based on changes to the relevant Fuel Index if they were created via stored rates:

Customer Quote: Updated until Load Ship Date.
Carrier Quote: Updated until Load Ship Date.
Customer Invoice: Updated until the invoice is no longer in the Pending status.
Carrier Invoice: Updated when the customer invoice is no longer in the Pending status.

This recalculation happens to consider the contracted Fuel Index value and its delayed availability at the time of record creation. When creating Fuel Surcharges, ensure the Auto-Update Quotes and Invoices field is set to Yes, or quotes and invoices will need manual adjustments as Fuel Indexes are updated.

For the following types of Rate Entries, the Fuel Surcharge is automatically calculated along with a complete Customer or Carrier Quote:

Fixed Cost
Distance-Based
Weight-Based
Billable Weight-Based
Handling Unit-Based
Linear Feet-Based
Equipment-Based