Does your company ship with FedEx? You know FedEx fuel surcharges and understand these additional costs of transportation impact profitability.
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
The FedEx Fuel Surcharge is an additional charge applied by FedEx to its shipping rates to adjust for the varying costs of fuel. Both ground and air shipping services can have fuel surcharges.
Fuel prices can be quite volatile, frequently changing due to various global factors. By applying a fuel surcharge that varies depending on current fuel prices, FedEx (and other carriers that use similar mechanisms) can stabilize its pricing model without having to change its base rates constantly.
FedEx typically determines the surcharge percentages based on the U.S. Gulf Coast (USGC) spot price for a gallon of kerosene-type jet fuel (for air shipments) and on the U.S. On-Highway Diesel Fuel price (for ground shipments). The company often publishes a table that relates the spot prices to specific surcharge percentages, so customers can see in advance what the surcharge will be based on current fuel prices.
The exact percentage and structure of the surcharge can change over time, and it might be different for domestic vs. international shipments or for other specific services.
Changes to the FedEx Express and ground charges will be applicable every Monday. The FedEx fuel surcharge percentage will be reflected on the FedEx invoice. As a rule, the FedEx fuel surcharge for each week is available on Friday before the fee is applicable. You can find these updates if you follow our Instagram or Facebook feeds!
Effective Date
Domestic (Express)
Export (Express)
Import (Express)
Ground Surcharge
Weekly Diesel Price
Feb. 17 – Feb. 23, 2025
18.00%
23.75%
27.50%
18.25%
$3.66
May 6 – May 12, 2024
17.25%
19.25%
23.00%
16.50%
$3.89
Mar. 28 – Apr. 3, 2022
16.50%
17.50%
20.25%
16.00%
$5.57
Jan. 17 – Jan. 24, 2022
12.50%
12.50%
12.50%
12.00%
$3.65
Oct. 4 – Oct. 10, 2021
9.50%
10.75%
13.50%
9.50%
$3.47
Feb. 25 – Mar. 3, 2019
6.50%
8.50%
10.25%
6.50%
$3.04
FedEx Express Fuel Surcharge Calculations
The fuel surcharge percentage is subject to weekly adjustment. It is based on the weekly U.S. Gulf Coast (USGC) spot price for a gallon of kerosene-type jet fuel. The related fuel surcharge is assessed on the net package rate plus applicable transportation-related fees.
Additionally, this applies to the following transportation-related surcharges:
Broker Select Option Fee
Extended Service Area Delivery
International Out-of-pickup-area
Oversize
Delivery Area Surcharge
Extended Service Area Pickup
International Premium Pickup
Peak — Oversize
Courier Pickup
Metro Service Area Pickup
Residential Delivery
Residential Pickup
Saturday Delivery
Metro Service Area Delivery
Return On-call Pickup
ExpressTag
Delivery reattempt
Saturday Pickup
International Out-of-delivery-area
Additional Handling
Additional Handling – Non-Stackable
Delivery Reattempt
Collect on Delivery
Delivery Signature Options
FedEx Ground Fuel Surcharge Calculations
Similarly, the fuel surcharge percentage is subject to weekly adjustment, and it’s based on the weekly national U.S. on-highway average price for a gallon of diesel fuel. The related fuel surcharge is assessed on the net package rate plus applicable transportation-related surcharges. Additionally, the index extends if the U.S. on-highway (diesel) index value falls under $2.83 or increases above $4.00.
Additionally, this applies to the following transportation-related surcharges:
Every single package is subject to FedEx fuel surcharge, all shippers see these charges.
Subsequently, the FedEx fuel surcharge is the most common additional fee for all Refund Retriever clients. In conclusion, here are a few tips to lower your U.P.S. fuel surcharges:
Negotiate better service agreement terms on discounts and surcharges.
Negotiate FedEx fuel surcharge incentives on the agreement (10 – 50% discount on FedEx Fuel Surcharges)·
Reduce the frequency of surcharges on which fuel surcharge applies.
Brian Gibbs founded Refund Retriever in 2006 while running his first eBay-based business and seeing the shortcomings of other shipment auditing companies. Refund Retriever's primary focus is FedEx and UPS parcel invoice auditing. After graduating from Texas A&M University in 2001, he graduated from the University of Houston in 2004 with a JD and MBA. Gibbs has been featured in Forbes, Entrepreneur, and other publications discussing parcel auditing, shipping, e-commerce, and more. Learn more at www.refundretriever.com or call (800) 441-8085 for more information.
