{
  "slug": "fuel-surcharge-recovery",
  "title": "Fuel Surcharge Recovery Calculator",
  "heading": "Fuel Surcharge Calculator",
  "category": "financial",
  "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/fuel-surcharge-recovery",
  "summary": "Recover rising diesel cost above your base fuel price assumption.",
  "description": "Fuel surcharges exist because base linehaul rates are negotiated assuming a baseline diesel price, and diesel doesn't sit still. This calculator computes the surcharge per mile you should charge (or receive) based on the gap between current diesel price and your contract's baseline price, factoring in your truck's average MPG. If your baseline is $3.50/gallon and diesel is now $4.30, at 6.5 MPG that's roughly $0.123 per mile you're leaving on the table if you don't apply a surcharge. Many carrier contracts use a published index (like DOE weekly retail diesel) with a surcharge table — this gives you the underlying math so you can verify what you're being paid matches reality.",
  "formula": "Surcharge per mile = (current price − baseline price) ÷ MPG.",
  "dateModified": "2026-09-30",
  "run_url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/api/public/calc?tool=fuel-surcharge-recovery",
  "inputs": [
    {
      "id": "currentPrice",
      "label": "Current diesel price",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 4.1,
      "unit": "$/gal",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "basePrice",
      "label": "Contract baseline price",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 3.5,
      "unit": "$/gal",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "mpg",
      "label": "Truck average MPG",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 6.5,
      "unit": "mpg",
      "min": 1,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "miles",
      "label": "Monthly miles",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 9000,
      "unit": "mi",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    }
  ],
  "outputs": [
    {
      "id": "surchargeMile",
      "label": "Surcharge per mile",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": true
    },
    {
      "id": "monthlySurcharge",
      "label": "Monthly surcharge recovery",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "gap",
      "label": "Price gap above baseline",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "gallonsPerMonth",
      "label": "Gallons burned per month",
      "format": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    }
  ],
  "worked_example": {
    "inputs": [
      "Current diesel price: 4.1 $/gal",
      "Contract baseline price: 3.5 $/gal",
      "Truck average MPG: 6.5 mpg",
      "Monthly miles: 9000 mi"
    ],
    "outputs": [
      "Surcharge per mile: $0.092",
      "Monthly surcharge recovery: $831",
      "Price gap above baseline: $0.60",
      "Gallons burned per month: 1,385"
    ]
  },
  "how_to": {
    "title": "How to use this",
    "steps": [
      "Enter current diesel price ($/gal).",
      "Enter contract baseline price ($/gal).",
      "Enter truck average mpg (mpg).",
      "Enter monthly miles (mi).",
      "Read your surcharge per mile on the right — it updates as you type.",
      "Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone."
    ]
  },
  "scenarios": [
    {
      "name": "Conservative",
      "description": "Lower-end numbers — what if things land soft?",
      "values": {
        "currentPrice": 2.4599999999999995,
        "basePrice": 2.1,
        "mpg": 3.9,
        "miles": 5400
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Typical",
      "description": "Defaults — the most common real-world setup.",
      "values": {
        "currentPrice": 4.1,
        "basePrice": 3.5,
        "mpg": 6.5,
        "miles": 9000
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Ambitious",
      "description": "Higher-end numbers — what if things really pop?",
      "values": {
        "currentPrice": 6.56,
        "basePrice": 5.6000000000000005,
        "mpg": 10.4,
        "miles": 14400
      }
    }
  ],
  "limitations": [
    "Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.",
    "Rates are treated as fixed for the whole period — variable-rate products will drift from this projection.",
    "This is educational maths, not financial advice. Check anything contractual with the lender or your accountant."
  ],
  "faq": [
    {
      "q": "Where does the baseline price come from?",
      "a": "It's set in your contract or broker agreement, usually referencing the DOE/EIA weekly national or regional average diesel price at the time the rate was negotiated. It should be stated explicitly in the rate confirmation — if it isn't, ask before hauling."
    },
    {
      "q": "Why divide by MPG instead of just multiplying the price gap?",
      "a": "The surcharge needs to reimburse actual extra fuel spend per mile, not just the raw price difference. A truck at 6.5 MPG burns less fuel per mile than one at 5.5 MPG, so the dollar impact of a price jump differs by truck efficiency."
    },
    {
      "q": "How often should surcharges update?",
      "a": "Most contracts update weekly off the published DOE index, lagged by a week or two. Diesel can swing 15-20 cents in a month, so a surcharge locked for a full quarter can badly under- or over-recover actual cost."
    },
    {
      "q": "Does this apply to owner-operators under a carrier or independents?",
      "a": "Both — carriers pass fuel surcharge through to drivers under a percentage or per-mile split, and independents negotiate it directly with brokers or shippers. Either way the underlying math is the same gap-over-MPG calculation."
    }
  ],
  "related": [
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/owner-operator-cost-per-mile",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/ifta-fuel-tax-estimate",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/ev-van-tco-vs-diesel"
  ],
  "license": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "citation": "RevenueLab — Fuel Surcharge Recovery Calculator (https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/fuel-surcharge-recovery)"
}