DHL Fuel Surcharges: How to Check the Percentage and Your Invoice
The short version
- DHL Express fuel is a percentage, set weekly from a 20-day rolling average of US Gulf Coast jet fuel. Export and import percentages differ.
- DHL eCommerce fuel is a dollar amount per pound, set monthly from the US Department of Energy diesel average two months earlier. Packages under 1 lb are charged as 1 lb.
- Express fuel applies to transportation and to a published list of surcharges, such as remote area delivery and oversize piece. It does not apply to duties and taxes.
- Most fuel errors are a wrong period, the wrong direction (export against import), or a charge base that includes items DHL does not apply fuel to.
- The published rate is the starting point. If your agreement discounts or caps fuel, the invoice should reflect that, not the published figure.
DHL has two fuel surcharges, and which one is on your invoice depends on the network that carried the package. DHL Express charges a percentage of the transportation charge and of fuel-eligible surcharges, reset every week: for the week of October 12 to 18, 2026, it is 37.00% on US exports and 40.75% on imports. DHL eCommerce charges a fixed amount per pound, reset every month: for October 2026 it is $0.30 per pound on domestic shipments and $0.50 per pound on international. To check an invoice, match each shipment to the right network, the right week or month, and the right charge base, then compare the result with your agreement.
DHL Express and DHL eCommerce are separate schedules
DHL Express is the international time-definite network: documents and parcels moving into and out of the United States by air. DHL eCommerce is the parcel network for domestic and cross-border ecommerce, with final delivery in the US often handed to the postal service. They publish separate rate guides, separate surcharge pages and separate fuel schedules, and the two are calculated on different bases:
| DHL Express | DHL eCommerce | |
|---|---|---|
| How fuel is charged | Percentage of eligible charges | Dollars per pound |
| How often it changes | Weekly, since April 13, 2026 | Monthly, on the first of the month |
| Fuel index | 20-day rolling average, US Gulf Coast kerosene-type jet fuel (DOE) | Domestic: DOE national on-highway diesel, monthly average from two months earlier. International: DOE US Gulf Coast jet fuel |
| Rate in October 2026 | Export 36.25% to 37.50%, import 40.00% to 41.25%, by week | $0.30/lb domestic, $0.50/lb international |
| Applies to | Transportation charges and listed surcharges | Billed weight, minimum 1 lb |
Sources: DHL Express, Surcharges, United States and weekly fuel surcharge updates; DHL eCommerce, Surcharge Policies and fuel surcharges, all accessed October 2026.
A percentage and a per-pound charge behave differently. A 37% Express surcharge grows with the price of the shipment, so a discount on transportation also lowers fuel. A DHL eCommerce per-pound charge grows with weight and ignores price, so a discount on the base rate does nothing to fuel, and heavy packages carry most of it.
How the DHL Express fuel surcharge is set
DHL Express takes the daily US Gulf Coast spot price for kerosene-type jet fuel, published by the US Department of Energy, averages it over a rolling 20 days, and looks the average up in its published fuel table. The table has 65 price brackets, from $1.91 to $4.51 a gallon in $0.04 steps, each with an export and an import percentage. On April 13, 2026, DHL moved the US from monthly to weekly updates, so the percentage now changes every Monday.
Recent weeks, as published by DHL Express for the US:
| Week (2026) | Export | Import |
|---|---|---|
| October 5 to 11 | 36.25% | 40.00% |
| October 12 to 18 | 37.00% | 40.75% |
| October 19 to 25 | 37.50% | 41.25% |
Source: DHL Express, Surcharges, United States, accessed October 2026. DHL publishes the next week's figure in advance.
In each of those weeks, and at both ends of the table, import runs 3.75 points above export, so the direction of the shipment matters as much as the week. An import billed by an inbound account and an export billed by an outbound account should never carry the same percentage in the same week.
The August 3, 2026 table change
The table itself changes from time to time, separately from the weekly movement in fuel prices. On August 3, 2026, DHL Express replaced the table in effect since April 1, 2026 with a new Jet Fuel Index that kept the 65 brackets and lowered every percentage by 2.00 points: export from 23.75% to 39.75% down to 21.75% to 37.75%, and import from 27.50% to 43.50% down to 25.50% to 41.50%. Shipments before August 3 are billed on the old table and shipments from August 3 on the new one, which matters when you audit invoices that span the change. Our August 2026 post covers that change in detail.
What Express fuel is charged on
DHL Express applies the fuel percentage to the transportation charge on every service and to a published list of surcharges where they apply: Dedicated Delivery, Dedicated Pickup, Demand Surcharge, Elevated Risk, Emergency Situation, Non-Conveyable Piece, Non-Stackable Pallet, Oversize Piece, Overweight Piece, Residential Address, Remote Area Delivery, Remote Area Pickup, Saturday Delivery and Saturday Pickup. Duties, taxes and charges outside that list are not part of the base. Check the current list in DHL's US rate and service guide, because it is what decides whether fuel on a given line is right.
How the DHL eCommerce fuel surcharge is set
DHL eCommerce charges domestic fuel per pound, from a table keyed to the monthly rounded average of the US national on-highway diesel price published by the Department of Energy. It uses the average from two months earlier: October's charge comes from August's diesel average. The rate changes on the first of each month, and packages under 1 lb are charged as 1 lb. International products use the same monthly approach on US Gulf Coast jet fuel instead of diesel.
The current domestic table took effect May 30, 2026. It raised every tier of the previous table by $0.14 per pound and added three tiers above $7.00 a gallon:
| Diesel, per gallon | Fuel, per lb | Diesel, per gallon | Fuel, per lb |
|---|---|---|---|
| $1.14 to $1.31 | $0.19 | $4.51 to $4.91 | $0.28 |
| $1.31 to $1.55 | $0.20 | $4.91 to $5.32 | $0.29 |
| $1.55 to $1.95 | $0.21 | $5.32 to $5.72 | $0.30 |
| $1.95 to $2.42 | $0.22 | $5.72 to $6.13 | $0.31 |
| $2.42 to $2.82 | $0.23 | $6.13 to $6.71 | $0.32 |
| $2.82 to $3.29 | $0.24 | $6.71 to $7.00 | $0.33 |
| $3.29 to $3.69 | $0.25 | $7.00 to $7.40 | $0.34 |
| $3.69 to $4.10 | $0.26 | $7.40 to $7.80 | $0.35 |
| $4.10 to $4.51 | $0.27 | $7.80 to $8.20 | $0.36 |
Source: DHL eCommerce, Fuel Surcharge for Domestic Products, effective May 30, 2026 (PDF), which replaced the table effective February 1, 2026 (PDF), $0.05 to $0.19 per lb. The PDF sets which tier a price on a boundary falls in.
October 2026's $0.30 per pound is the $5.32 to $5.72 tier. Because the charge is per pound, a 1 lb package pays $0.30 and a 20 lb package pays $6.00, whatever either one cost to ship. The May 30 change is covered in our post on the domestic table increase.
A dated invoice example
An outbound DHL Express account, invoiced for the week of October 12 to 18, 2026. One export shipment tendered on Tuesday, October 13, with a remote area delivery surcharge at destination. The transportation and surcharge amounts are illustrative; the percentages are DHL's.
| Line | Amount | Fuel-eligible? |
|---|---|---|
| Transportation charge, after discount | $84.20 | Yes |
| Remote Area Delivery | $30.00 | Yes |
| Duties and taxes billed to shipper | $48.00 | No |
| Fuel-eligible base | $114.20 | |
| Fuel, 37.00% export, week of October 12 | $42.25 |
Illustrative amounts. Fuel percentage: DHL Express US, export, October 12 to 18, 2026.
The fuel line should read $42.25. Each of the common errors produces a different number, so the amount tells you what went wrong:
- Wrong week. The prior week's 36.25% gives $41.40, the following week's 37.50% gives $42.83. Check the ship date on the line, not the invoice date.
- Wrong direction. The import rate of 40.75% gives $46.54, $4.29 too much on this one shipment.
- Wrong base. Fuel at 37.00% on all three lines, $162.20, gives $60.01, because the duties and taxes were included.
- Wrong table. On a shipment that straddles a table change, such as August 3, 2026, check which table the ship date falls under.
The DHL eCommerce version is simpler. A domestic package billed at 6 lb in October 2026 carries $1.80 of fuel, and a 10 oz package carries $0.30 because it is charged as 1 lb. A September shipment is billed at September's rate, so a package that moved on September 30 should not carry October's.
Check the result against your agreement
The published percentage or per-pound rate is what DHL charges a shipper with no fuel terms. Many agreements change it: a discount off the published percentage, a cap, a fixed rate for a period, or a different table. If yours does, the figure to check the invoice against is the published rate adjusted by those terms, and an invoice that shows the published rate unadjusted is an overcharge you can claim. If your agreement says nothing about fuel, the published rate applies, and the place to reduce it is the next negotiation.
A practical review covers four things: the network and service on each line, the week or month from the ship date, whether the base matches DHL's list of fuel-eligible charges, and the fuel terms in your agreement. Run it across a full month of invoices rather than a sample, because a wrong rate is usually wrong on every shipment billed that period. If you want that done for you, our parcel audit checks fuel charges against the applicable agreement on every line, alongside the other surcharges.
UPS and FedEx publish their own weekly domestic percentages on different indexes. Their current figures and thirteen weeks of history are in the UPS and FedEx fuel surcharge tracker, and how fuel surcharges are calculated compares the two. Neither covers DHL.
Frequently asked questions
What is the DHL fuel surcharge this week?
For DHL Express in the US, the week of October 12 to 18, 2026 is 37.00% on exports and 40.75% on imports, and October 19 to 25 is 37.50% and 41.25%. DHL publishes each week's figure on its US surcharges page. For DHL eCommerce, the rate is monthly: $0.30 per pound domestic and $0.50 per pound international for October 2026.
How is the DHL eCommerce fuel surcharge calculated?
Domestic fuel is a dollar amount per pound, looked up in DHL eCommerce's table from the US Department of Energy's monthly average on-highway diesel price two months earlier. Multiply the rate by the billed weight, with a 1 lb minimum. International products use US Gulf Coast jet fuel instead of diesel.
How often does the DHL Express fuel surcharge change?
Weekly. DHL Express in the US moved from monthly to weekly updates on April 13, 2026. The percentage is based on a 20-day rolling average of US Gulf Coast jet fuel, so it moves gradually rather than jumping with daily prices.
Does the DHL fuel surcharge apply to duties and taxes?
No. DHL Express applies fuel to transportation charges and a published list of surcharges, including remote area, oversize, overweight and residential charges. Duties and taxes are not on it. A fuel line calculated on a total that includes them is overstated.
Why is the DHL import fuel surcharge higher than export?
DHL Express publishes separate export and import columns, and import has run 3.75 points higher in every week published in October 2026 and at both ends of the current table. Which column applies depends on the direction of the shipment, so confirm that imports are not billed at export rates or the other way around.
Can the DHL fuel surcharge be negotiated?
Yes. Fuel is a contract term like the base rate. Agreements can discount the published percentage, cap it, or fix it for a period. Because Express fuel is a percentage of transportation and surcharges, a fuel discount reaches almost every dollar on an Express invoice.
Sources
- DHL Express, Surcharges, United States, for the weekly export and import percentages, the jet fuel index and the fuel-eligible surcharges.
- DHL Express, DHL Express will implement weekly fuel surcharge updates, for the move to weekly updates on April 13, 2026.
- DHL eCommerce, Surcharge Policies, for the diesel and jet fuel indexes, the two-month lag and the monthly effective date.
- DHL eCommerce, US fuel surcharges (PDF), for the October 2026 rates and the 1 lb minimum.
- DHL eCommerce, Fuel Surcharge for Domestic Products, effective May 30, 2026 and effective February 1, 2026 (PDFs), for the domestic tables.
- ebb Logistics, DHL Express fuel surcharge update, August 3, 2026, for the April 1 and August 3, 2026 table ranges.