When did the fuel surcharge begin?

Answer 1

Back in the mid 70's during the OPEC oil crisis, although companies moved away from it when fuel prices stabilized. Only in recent times have companies adopted its use again.

Fuel surcharges are a way for companies to make more money without having shippers raising objections. Big carriers charge based on the DOE index, while their trucks make better fuel efficiency than what they charge shippers for. Additionally the cariers get huge discounts and rebates from trucks stops, as much as 30 to 40 cents per gallon while collecting the full DOE index price.

Carriers also make money off the backs of their owner operator and their lease operator fleets. They charge their customer base full surcharge, skim some off the top and pass on the rest to the operator, then when the o/o fuels using the carrier fuel card the carrier charges the o/o more than they got the fuel for from the truck stop but its usually less than the pump price. I know of some carriers that only give the o/o the cash price (usually 6 cents off pump price) while pocketing the rest of tbe discount they got, as much as the price I mentioned above.