How to structure this contract
- Match the index to the move type. Local drayage, full truckload, and LTL each price differently.
- Pick the linehaul series. Local, full truckload, and LTL each have their own BLS series.
- Add the fuel surcharge separately. Fuel and linehaul rates adjust on different schedules: keep them as two lines.
- Never cross-apply series. A long-distance index used for a local move drifts from actual cost within a few cycles.
Match the trucking index to the actual move
"Trucking" is not one market. Local drayage between a port and a warehouse, a long-distance full truckload run, and a less-than-truckload shipment consolidated with other freight all price differently. Each has its own BLS Producer Price Index series.
| Move type | Benchmark | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Local or short-haul (drayage, last-mile) | PCU484110484110 (General Freight Trucking, Local) | Use for port-to-warehouse and last-mile moves |
| Long-distance, full truckload | PCU484121484121 | Use when the shipment fills the trailer |
| Long-distance, less-than-truckload | PCU484122484122 | Use when the shipment shares trailer space with other freight, typically prices differently from full truckload |
| Freight brokerage and arrangement | PCU488510488510 (Freight Transportation Arrangement) | For the freight forwarder's service fee, separate from the linehaul rate |
Add the fuel surcharge as its own line
Diesel is usually billed as a separate fuel surcharge on top of the base linehaul rate, not folded into it. Benchmark it against a fuel price series, for example the EIA's US On-Highway Diesel retail price. Fuel and linehaul rates move on different schedules: linehaul rates adjust with carrier capacity and demand, fuel surcharges typically adjust weekly or monthly off a published diesel price table. Keep them as two lines in the clause, not one blended number.
A worked example
A contract moves freight by full truckload, base rate $2,500 per load, plus a fuel surcharge that moves with the diesel index. At signing, PCU484121484121 reads 195. A year later it reads 205, a 5.1% increase, worth about $128 per load on the base rate alone. In the same period diesel rises 12%, adding a separate surcharge increase that the base-rate escalation never touches. A clause that only escalates the base rate and ignores the surcharge structure will systematically underprice one side of the cost as diesel and linehaul diverge.
Don't use a long-distance index for local moves
Local drayage and long-distance linehaul are priced by different cost structures: local moves are dominated by driver time and short-cycle trips, long-distance by fuel and equipment utilization over distance. Using PCU484121484121 (long-distance) to escalate a local drayage contract, or the reverse, will drift from what that specific move actually costs within a few review cycles.
Live index data
- US PPI: General Freight Trucking, Local: current value, year-over-year change, and a free calculator
- US PPI: General Freight Trucking, Long-Distance, Truckload: current value, year-over-year change, and a free calculator
- US PPI: General Freight Trucking, Long-Distance, Less Than Truckload: current value, year-over-year change, and a free calculator