FedEx Freight Reset Fuel Surcharge 15 Times as U.S. Diesel Tops $6 a Gallon
Updated
Updated · Business Model Analyst · Sep 16
FedEx Freight Reset Fuel Surcharge 15 Times as U.S. Diesel Tops $6 a Gallon
2 articles · Updated · Business Model Analyst · Sep 16
Summary
FedEx Freight changed its fuel surcharge every week from late May to early September, making 15 resets tied to the EIA diesel index; eight of those moves were cuts.
Diesel averaged $6.285 a gallon in the latest weekly reading, up 68% from a year earlier, after falling 17% by early July and then rebounding 30% by early September.
That formula let FedEx keep base linehaul rates fixed while fuel charges moved automatically—a $1,000 shipment carried a $510 fuel add-on in late May, $415 in early July and $554 by Sept. 9.
Other businesses lacked that flexibility: Ambix Manufacturing raised prices 10% to 21%, LupinePet lifted prices 5%, while a Pennsylvania farm absorbed roughly 15% higher trucking costs.
The broader lesson is that companies facing volatile energy costs are shifting toward shorter-duration pricing tools—surcharges, temporary rollbacks, hedges or targeted increases—instead of betting on whether the shock will fade.