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Fuel Surcharge Check on One Load: Which Week Did the Broker Use?

One 500-mile load, two EIA price weeks and one surcharge schedule. See how the pickup week changes the surcharge to the cent, and what to ask for before you raise it.

5 min read

Two bars for the same 500-mile load: the surcharge from the pickup week price is $252.42 and from the week before is $232.08, a gap of $20.34Week of pickup$252.42Week before$232.08Gap $20.34500 loaded miles, peg $3.50, 6.0 mpg (example data)

Why this matters. The line says "fuel surcharge" and the amount looks about right, so it gets filed and forgotten. But a surcharge is arithmetic on a diesel price, and the arithmetic depends on which week the price comes from. The Monday of the pickup week and the Monday before it are two different numbers. If the rate confirmation does not say which one applies, the broker picks.

A gap is a question, not a claim

The schedule in your rate confirmation decides what is owed. A cap, a minimum haul length or a different index can explain a lower figure. The schedule below is invented, and nothing here is legal advice. Ask for the broker's table in writing before you raise a gap.

The schedule, in plain numbers

Example data: a rate confirmation pegs the surcharge at $3.50 a gallon and uses 6.0 miles per gallon. The load is 500 loaded miles. The formula is the same one our fuel surcharge check uses:

surcharge = loaded miles x (price - peg) / miles per gallon 500 x (6.529 - 3.500) / 6.0 = $252.42

The price is the EIA U.S. weekly retail on-highway diesel price for the week of Sep 21, 2026, $6.529 a gallon. EIA publishes it every Monday. The week before, Sep 14, the price was $6.285.

One load, two price weeks

Say the pickup was on Wednesday, Sep 23. A rate confirmation that reads "price of the Monday on or before pickup" points to Sep 21. One that reads "price of the week before pickup" points to Sep 14.

Example data: one load, one schedule, two price weeks
Price week usedEIA U.S. priceSurcharge per mileSurcharge on 500 miles
Sep 21, 2026 (week of pickup)$6.529$0.505$252.42
Sep 14, 2026 (week before)$6.285$0.464$232.08
Gap between the two$0.244$0.041$20.34

Source: EIA weekly retail diesel, retrieved Oct 10, 2026. The peg, the miles per gallon and the pickup date are invented. Surcharge per mile is rounded to a tenth of a cent, each dollar figure to the cent.

What $20.34 means over a year

One load, $20.34. That is small enough to ignore. Now multiply it by what a small fleet runs. If the week rule costs you that much on 3 loads a week, it is $61.02 a week, or $3,173.04 over 52 weeks. The three loads a week are an assumption for this example, and the gap will be bigger in a week when diesel climbs and could flip sign in a week when it falls. The point is that a rule written down once decides the number for every load.

Between those two weeks the price moved 24.4 cents a gallon. On the next week it moved the other way: the week of Sep 28 came in at $6.382, so the same schedule gives $240.17. A week rule that looks harmless in a flat month matters in a volatile one.

A different kind of table: cents per step

Some schedules skip the miles-per-gallon division. They add a set number of cents per mile for every full price step above the peg. Example data: 1.0 cent per mile for each full $0.05 above a $3.50 peg.

Example data: a price just under a step pays nothing for that step
PriceFull steps above pegSurcharge on 500 miles
$6.29955$275.00
$6.30156$280.00

Prices are invented to show the step edge. Real schedules differ.

A tenth of a cent moves the surcharge by $5.00 here, so the week you pick matters more than it does with the division method.

Check one load in five steps

  1. Find the schedule on the rate confirmation. Write down the peg, the miles per gallon or the step, the region and the week rule.
  2. Note the pickup date and the loaded miles.
  3. Look up the EIA price for the week the schedule names, and for the week before.
  4. Work out both surcharges. Compare them with the amount the broker paid.
  5. If the payment is lower than both, send the broker your numbers and ask for its table in writing.
Subject: Fuel surcharge, load [number] Our rate confirmation states a peg of [amount] and [miles per gallon or step]. Using the EIA [region] price for the week of [date] ([price]), we calculate [amount] on [miles] miles. The remittance shows [amount]. Please send the table and the week you used.

Keep the tone factual. A broker can verify every number in that message, which is what makes it easy to answer.

What the tool will not tell you

EIA publishes regional averages. They are not your pump price, and your contract may name another index, region or day. If it does, the tool will not match it. Treat the figure as a way to ask a better question.

Common questions

  • Which diesel price should I compare against? The one written on your rate confirmation. Our tool uses the EIA weekly retail on-highway diesel price, published for the U.S. and five regions every Monday. Many tables name an EIA price, but yours may name another index, region or day.
  • Why can the broker's number differ from mine? The usual causes are a different region, a different week, a different peg or miles-per-gallon figure, rounding, or a cap in the contract. Showing the pickup week and the week before side by side tells you which one the broker used.
  • What is a peg? The base diesel price in the schedule. Below it no surcharge is paid, and above it the surcharge grows with the price. The contract sets it. The $3.50 in this article is an example, not a suggestion.
  • Does the surcharge cover all my fuel? No. It covers a share of fuel cost. Compare it with your own cost per mile before you decide a load pays.

Run your own schedule through the fuel surcharge check. It runs in your browser and nothing you type leaves the page. Want five or ten recent loads checked against their rate confirmations? Send us your last 20 loads.

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