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
Diesel is one of the larger costs in trucking, so the truckload index follows the diesel price, but by much less than diesel itself moves.
Sources: PCU484121484121 (General Freight Trucking, Long-Distance, Truckload); BLS WPU057303.
Since 2017, this index has followed the diesel fuel price index in the same month and moved about a third as far as it over a year.
Over the 12 months to Sep 2026, the diesel fuel price index rose 115.2% and this index rose 17.9%.
Take a contract signed in September 2025 with $250,000 of full truckload scope, invoiced in September 2026.
| Base index, Sep 2025 | 186.058 |
| Current index, Sep 2026 (revisable) | 219.384 |
| Ratio, 219.384 ÷ 186.058 | 1.1791 |
| Amount at signing | $250,000 |
| Adjustment added to that amount | +$44,779 |
Live figures from the stored series, updated when the provider publishes. Sep 2026 can still be revised, so a clause should say whether the invoice uses the first published value or is trued up later.
This adjusts the base rate only. The fuel surcharge is a separate line that follows the diesel price on its own schedule. A clause that escalates the base rate and ignores the surcharge structure will misprice one side of the cost whenever diesel and linehaul diverge.
Don't use a long-distance index for local moves
Local drayage and long-distance linehaul are separate BLS series, and they do not move together. Using PCU484121484121 (long-distance) to escalate a local drayage contract, or the reverse, will drift from what that specific move actually costs.
Over the 12 months to Sep 2026, these series moved differently. On the same $250,000, the gap between the highest and lowest is $17,118.
| Series | What it covers | 12 months | On $250,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
PCU484121484121 | General Freight Trucking, Long-Distance, Truckload | +17.9% | +$44,779 |
PCU484110484110 | General Freight Trucking, Local | +13.0% | +$32,384 |
PCU484122484122 | General Freight Trucking, Long-Distance, Less Than Truckload | +19.8% | +$49,502 |
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