Time was that fuel surcharges were straight pass-through levies from the carriers to their customers. Surcharges accurately reflected a carrier’s fuel costs. Indices that set the surcharges were adjusted up or down depending on the direction of diesel and jet fuel prices.
Those days are long gone. Today, carriers routinely arbitrage fuel prices and surcharges to wring every last revenue dollar out of their shipments. In the parcel-delivery sector, which is still dominated by FedEx Corp. (NYSE:...
https://www.freightwaves.com/news/parcel-shippers-to-feel-more-fuel-surcharge-pain