Guide 5 of 11 · 5 minute read
Fuel on accessorials: the hidden base
Residential, delivery area and handling charges often carry fuel too. Shrinking the base can matter as much as shrinking the rate.
A percentage of what?
The fuel surcharge applies to your transportation charges and, under standard terms, to many accessorial charges as well: residential delivery, delivery area surcharges, additional handling and others. During peak season, demand surcharges add more charges for fuel to land on.
If accessorials are 20% of your spend and fuel applies to all of them, fuel is being charged on a base 25% larger than your freight charges alone.
How to measure it
From your invoice data, total the accessorial charges that fuel was applied to, and multiply by the surcharge for each week. Our accessorial fuel tool gives a quick estimate from two numbers: annual spend and the accessorial share.
What to ask for
- Exclude fuel from specific accessorials, starting with the largest by dollars.
- Exclude fuel from peak and demand surcharges.
- Make sure accessorial discounts are applied before fuel is calculated, not after.
Key takeaways
- Fuel usually applies to accessorials as well as freight.
- A smaller base is as valuable as a smaller rate.
- Start exclusions with your largest accessorials by dollars.
By the Logistics Contract Optimizer team. Rates cited are from the week of November 2, 2026 unless stated; see the rate board for this week.