Fuel Surcharge Calculator: FSC Per Mile

Fuel surcharge calculator: FSC per mile and per load

Enter this week's diesel price, the base price and MPG from your fuel schedule, and the loaded miles. Get the fuel surcharge per mile, for the whole load, and how much of your real fuel bill it covers.

By Milo / Updated October 2026

Current diesel price

$/gal

EIA U.S. average, week of September 28, 2026

Base price in the schedule

$/gal

From your contract or the broker's schedule

MPG in the schedule

mpg

Loaded miles

Schedule steps

FUEL SURCHARGERESULT

Price above base: $5.13/gal
FSC per mile: $0.855
Fuel actually costs per mile: $1.06
Share of fuel the FSC covers: 80.4%

FSC on 1,000 mi$855.00

The surcharge covers 80.4% of your fuel on this schedule; the rest comes out of the linehaul. Our dispatchers check the fuel terms on every rate con before it reaches you to sign or turn down.

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When diesel moves, a fuel surcharge is what keeps a contract rate from turning into a loss. It is also one of the least understood lines on a rate con. This fuel surcharge calculator shows how the surcharge is worked out and, more usefully, how much of your actual fuel bill it pays.

How to calculate FSC

The per-mile method most schedules use:

Price above base = current diesel price − base price in the schedule (zero if diesel is below the base)
FSC per mile = price above base ÷ MPG in the schedule
FSC per load = FSC per mile × loaded miles

Some schedules move in steps, for example every 5 or 6 cents of diesel price, instead of exactly. The calculator can round the way your schedule does.

To see what the surcharge covers, it compares the FSC per mile with your real fuel per mile, which is the current price ÷ MPG.

A worked example

EXAMPLE / $1.25 BASE, 6 MPGEXAMPLE

Diesel $6.382, week of Sept 28, 2026: $5.132 above base
÷ 6 mpg: $0.855/mi
× 1,000 loaded mi: $855
Fuel actually costs $6.382 ÷ 6: $1.06/mi

Share of fuel covered80%

The other 20 cents a mile comes out of the linehaul. If the truck actually gets 6.5 mpg, real fuel is 98 cents a mile and the surcharge covers more of it; at 5.5 mpg it covers less.

Reading a fuel schedule

Term	What it means for you
Base price	Fuel the linehaul is assumed to cover. Lower is better for the carrier
MPG	Lower MPG in the schedule pays more surcharge per mile
Index	Which EIA region and which week sets the price
Steps	Whether the surcharge moves exactly or in 5 or 6 cent steps
Miles	Usually loaded miles only; deadhead fuel isn't covered

Where the surcharge stops

Deadhead, reefer fuel and idling aren't usually covered. Reefer burn adds its own cost, explained in reefer units, and a whole trip's fuel bill is in the trip fuel cost calculator. Buying in the right states lowers the price you pay, which the where to fuel calculator helps with. Power only rates and how fuel fits into them are in power only rates per mile, and our approach on power only dispatch.

Results are estimates from the numbers you enter. Your contract's schedule is what counts.

SOURCES

U.S. Energy Information Administration: Weekly U.S. retail on-highway diesel: $6.382/gal for the week of Sept 28, 2026 (year ago $2.628 lower) (checked 2026-10)

Questions about this tool

01How do you calculate FSC?

With the common per-mile method: subtract the schedule's base price from the current diesel price, then divide by the schedule's MPG. At $6.38 diesel, a $1.25 base and 6 mpg, the surcharge is about 85.5 cents a mile. Multiply by loaded miles for the load.

02Which diesel price does the surcharge use?

Most schedules use the weekly U.S. or regional retail on-highway diesel average published by the Energy Information Administration, often the price from the Monday before the load ships. Your contract says which region and which week.

03Why doesn't the fuel surcharge cover all my fuel?

Because of the base price. Fuel up to the base is assumed to be inside the linehaul rate. If the schedule's MPG is better than your truck's, the gap grows, since you burn more gallons than the schedule pays for.

04Do spot loads include a fuel surcharge?

Often not separately. Many spot rates are quoted all-in, with fuel built into one number. Contract freight more often splits linehaul and surcharge. When a rate is all-in, compare it with linehaul plus a surcharge you'd expect at today's price.