Fuel surcharge audit: was the FSC billed at the right DOE rate?
Upload your billed fuel surcharges and check each line against the carrier’s published table, scaled to the diesel price for that ship week, or against your own contracted percent.
How it works: Enter one shipment or upload a CSV. We match each carrier to its published fuel table, scale the expected percent to the diesel price you enter, and flag any line billed outside your tolerance.
What this audit catches
Fuel surcharges are one of the least transparent lines on a freight invoice. The percent is supposed to track a published table tied to the DOE national average diesel price, but the table changes by carrier, the diesel price changes weekly, and the surcharge is sometimes applied to the wrong base. This tool recomputes the expected percent for the ship week you enter and compares it to what was billed.
It also checks for a fuel surcharge charged on top of an all inclusive rate, where fuel should already be built into the price, and for surcharges computed off accessorial charges instead of the linehaul alone.
How to run a fuel surcharge audit
Pull the carrier name, base or linehaul charge, and the FSC amount or percent from each invoice. If you know the diesel price the carrier used for that ship week, enter it. Otherwise the tool defaults to the current DOE national average and you can look up the exact week’s price at eia.gov/petroleum/gasdiesel for a precise check. If you have a contracted FSC percent instead of the carrier’s public table, enter it and it takes priority.
Rows land in one of a few checks: percent mismatch against the table or contract, FSC applied to accessorials, FSC billed on an all inclusive rate, or a percent outside the typical range worth a second look. Every flagged row shows what was billed, what was expected, and what to do next.
Common fuel surcharge billing errors
How Warp bills instead
Warp LTL is priced per pallet and all inclusive: no fuel surcharge, no accessorials, and no terminal handling fees layered on after the quote. Truckload is one all inclusive rate with ELD tracking, and box truck and cargo van are flat per load. There is no fuel surcharge line to audit because fuel is already in the number you were quoted, and every Warp invoice is checked against its quote before it reaches you. See how Warp audits every invoice.
Fuel surcharge audit FAQ
What is a fuel surcharge audit?
A fuel surcharge audit checks the FSC percent or dollar amount on a freight invoice against the carrier's published fuel surcharge table for the diesel price during the ship week. Most carriers publish a table that ties an FSC percent to a range of DOE (Department of Energy) national average diesel prices. If the billed percent does not match the table at that week's diesel price, or a contracted rate, the difference is disputable.
Where do carriers get their fuel surcharge percent?
Most LTL and truckload carriers tie their fuel surcharge to the DOE national average on highway diesel price, published weekly at eia.gov/petroleum/gasdiesel. Each carrier publishes its own table mapping a diesel price range to a surcharge percent. Contract carriers may negotiate a flat percent or a different index instead of the DOE table, which is why this tool lets you enter a contracted FSC percent that overrides the published table.
What should a fuel surcharge apply to?
A fuel surcharge should apply to the linehaul or base freight charge only, not to accessorial charges like liftgate, residential, or detention fees. Billing FSC on the combined base plus accessorials inflates the surcharge and is one of the most common fuel billing errors this audit catches.
Can a fuel surcharge appear on an all inclusive rate?
No. An all inclusive rate or contract already has fuel built into the quoted price, so a separate fuel surcharge line should not exist. Warp LTL, truckload, box truck, and cargo van rates are all inclusive with no fuel surcharge to verify.
What is a typical fuel surcharge percent range?
Published FSC percents on LTL and truckload freight are typically in the 0% to 60% range depending on the carrier and the current diesel price, though the exact figure moves with diesel weekly. A percent well outside that range on an invoice is worth a second look, though it is not automatically wrong. Always confirm against the carrier tariff item before disputing.
How do I dispute a fuel surcharge overcharge?
Compare the billed percent against the carrier's published table at the diesel price for your ship week, or your contracted percent if one exists. Document the reference number, the amount billed, the amount expected, and the difference, then submit it to the carrier's overcharge claims department within their filing window. This tool's dispute summary export formats that write up for you.
Do all carriers use the same fuel surcharge table?
No. Each carrier publishes its own table and updates it on its own schedule, so the same diesel price can produce different FSC percents at different carriers. Compare against the specific carrier on the invoice, not a generic industry average.
Stop auditing fuel surcharges
Warp rates are all inclusive. There is no fuel surcharge line to check because there is no fuel surcharge line at all.
Performance figures are computed from Warp network data. See our methodology.