Trucking & Rail Oct 18, 2026 · 7 min read

US inland costs: Maersk’s $215 fuel surcharge lands as diesel eases

Maersk lifts its US inland fuel surcharge 54% to $215 from 1 November. Maersk will raise its US inland fuel surcharge from $140 to $215 per container on 1 November, Container News reports. It applies when Maersk trucks the box to or from your door under its own bill of lading. In our view, this is a lagging bill: weekly diesel has fallen three weeks in a row, to $6.18 a gallon (EIA, via Overdrive), but the 13-week average Maersk uses still rose. Carrier-haulage door moves will cost more in November even as pump prices ease. Our call: $215 will still be in force on 31 December.

Diesel has peaked. US inland surcharges haven’t, and they won’t come down this year
Maersk will raise its US inland fuel surcharge from $140 to $215 per container on 1 November. That is a $75, or 54%, rise. It hits shipments moved under a Maersk ocean bill of lading (B/L, the carrier’s transport contract) where Maersk arranges the trucking to or from the customer’s door in the US. Container News reports that it applies to any shipment with a Price Calculation Date on or after 1 November. It shows as its own line on the B/L under the codes IFS (import) or EFS (export).
Our view is simple. Forwarders are about to pay in November and December for a diesel spike that peaked in September. US inland charges follow slow-moving averages and contract cycles. Pump prices have turned, but the bills have not, and they won’t for weeks.

Why the surcharge rises while diesel falls

The timing looks odd at first. US diesel is getting cheaper. The national average was $6.18 a gallon in the week ending 12 October, down 2 cents. It was the third straight weekly fall, Overdrive reports, citing the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). That leaves diesel 35 cents below the “record high of $6.53 per gallon set during the week ending Sept. 21.”
But Maersk’s surcharge does not track the weekly price. Container News says Maersk linked the increase to the 13-week average diesel price, which rose by more than $0.10 a gallon. The outlet says that adds pressure on linehaul (the long-distance leg), drayage (the short truck move between port and warehouse), depot and first-mile trucking costs.
A 13-week average covers roughly a quarter. The current window still includes September’s record weeks. Three weeks of small cuts barely move it. That is why a charge can rise while the pump price falls. It is also why it will be slow to come back down.
The price is still high by any measure. Overdrive says fuel prices are up 69% on a year ago. Prices also vary a lot by region. In the EIA data, the Lower Atlantic was cheapest at $5.65. California was above $8, at $8.09. The West Coast and Rocky Mountain regions rose last week while the eastern two-thirds of the country fell. For importers moving boxes inland from Los Angeles and Long Beach, the cost relief is not here yet.

The surcharges are stacking up

Maersk’s move fits a pattern that began in the spring. Maersk first applied the $140 charge to US truck moves with a pricing date on or after 18 April 2026, according to a Tradlinx round-up published on 24 September. The same round-up lists Maersk’s separate “Emergency Operational Cost Recovery” at rail ramps and container yards. It is $200 per dry container and $250 per reefer on imports, and $100 dry and $150 reefer on exports.
Other carriers have done the same. Tradlinx lists these charges: - Hapag-Lloyd’s emergency inland fuel charge (EFO/EFD) in North America rose on 1 October from $44 to $64 per container for truck, from $66 to $96 for rail, and from $110 to $160 for combined rail. It comes on top of the line’s standing inland fuel charge. - CMA CGM charges $100 to $345 per container on US imports with on-carriage (the inland leg after the port), and $100 to $200 on exports. - ONE reviews its inland charges monthly. In one example, its inbound all-truck charge rose from $50 to $105 for dry boxes, or $135 for reefers. - Seaboard Marine charges a percentage: 54.5% from 27 September and 57.5% from 11 October, reset every two weeks.
Local truck charges are rising too. Tropical Shipping raised South Florida drayage charges by $50 from 18 October. In the main South Florida counties the charge went from $315 to $365, Container News reports. The outlet says the company put the change down to rising fuel costs. AJOT reported on 6 October that the National Drayage Spot Market Index was expected to stay 9.8% above a year earlier through October.
The pressure isn’t only inland. Global Trade Magazine reports that Maersk will add a $1,000 per container peak season surcharge (PSS, a temporary charge for busy months) on dry cargo from the east coast of South America to the US and Canada from 5 November. Hapag-Lloyd announced a $1,000 per container general rate increase (GRI) from 15 November on South America east coast lanes, including to North America, Container News reports. Shippers on that trade face both within ten days.

What the truckers’ numbers say

The best evidence that US inland costs are real, and not just carrier opportunism, comes from the trucking companies’ own results.
J.B. Hunt, the US trucking and intermodal group, reported its third quarter on 15 October. Revenue rose 20% to $3.68 billion. Excluding fuel surcharge revenue, it rose 13%. Fuel surcharge revenue alone was $670.8 million, against $385.6 million a year earlier. That is a rise of about 74%. Operating income rose only 2%, to $247.1 million. Diluted earnings per share were $1.82, against $1.76.
The gap between revenue and profit is the story. The filing cites higher purchased transportation, fuel and fuel taxes, and insurance claims as a share of revenue. It also points to higher professional driver personnel costs. In its intermodal unit, loads rose 8% and revenue per load rose 11% to $3,121. Excluding fuel, revenue per load rose only 2%. Its truckload unit’s revenue per load rose from $1,646 to $2,183, and was up 29% excluding fuel. In brokerage (the ICS unit), volume rose 22% and revenue rose 57% to $434 million.
The company had warned of this. On 16 September, FreightWaves reported that J.B. Hunt shares fell 12% in early trading after the company signalled a 5% to 10% fall in third-quarter earnings per share from the second quarter. It cited $25 million in extra driver costs and at least $10 million in sequential fuel headwind. FreightWaves reported the company calling its cost inflation “more cyclical than structural.” It also said that management sees an opportunity to close the gap in the intermodal bid season, which starts in October. CEO Shelley Simpson said in the results release: “We remain confident in our strategy”.
Spot truck rates back this up. Overdrive, citing Truckstop.com and FTR, says total spot rates in the week ending 9 October were flat on the week but 42% above a year ago. Dry van rates were 49% higher on the year and reefer 45.5% higher. DAT’s Croke told Overdrive that, against the nine-year seasonal average for the same week, “van runs 23% higher, reefer 28%, and flatbed 25%.” DAT’s own forecast is mixed. “The 35-day DAT iQ RateCast forecast has van linehaul easing to $2.23/mile by mid-November,” Overdrive reports, with “reefer edging up to $2.77, and flatbed easing to $2.59.”

What this means for forwarders

First, reprice now. Any US door quote that runs past 1 November on Maersk carrier haulage should carry $215, not $140. The charge is fixed by the pricing date, so quotes built today for November loadings are already exposed.
Second, compare carrier haulage with merchant haulage. In carrier haulage, the shipping line books the truck and bills you its surcharge. In merchant haulage, you or your trucker book it and pay the trucker’s own fuel surcharge. The carrier’s charge rests on a 13-week average, so it is still rising while the weekly diesel price falls. On some lanes, booking your own trucker in November may come out cheaper. That’s worth checking lane by lane, especially in the East and Gulf, where diesel is cheapest.
Third, expect contract truck rates to rise. J.B. Hunt has said plainly that it wants to close the gap in bid season. Shippers renewing intermodal and dedicated contracts for 2027 should budget for base-rate increases, not just fuel.
Fourth, watch the West Coast. Diesel there is still rising, and California is above $8. Inland moves from the San Pedro Bay ports will feel the surcharge squeeze for longest.
Fifth, for shippers on the South America east coast to North America trade, the PSS and GRI land within ten days. Book early November sailings before the 5 November PSS if you can.

Our prediction

We expect Maersk’s US inland fuel surcharge to stay at $215 or higher through 31 December 2026. The 13-week average it uses is still being pulled up by September’s record weeks, and those don’t drop out of the window until December. We also expect at least one other carrier that reviews its inland fuel charge monthly, such as ONE or Hapag-Lloyd, to hold or raise it for November rather than cut it. Relief, when it comes, will show up first in weekly trucker surcharges and spot rates. Carrier inland surcharges will follow in the first quarter of 2027 at the earliest.

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