Heavy haul and specialized trucking company Daily Express now offers fuel surcharge programs for its owner-operators.


Formal fuel surcharge programs include a guaranteed minimum fuel payment on every load, a graduated fuel payment that increases with the weight of the cargo being shipped, and an empty mile fuel payment.

Daily Express says it was the first carrier to create a formal weight-based fuel payment system five years ago. This weight-based fuel payment is a benefit to owner-operators hauling overweight machinery, equipment and wind energy products, since extra weight cuts fuel mileage. Daily Express also formed a fuel surcharge using a base cost of $1.10 per gallon and a fuel economy of 5 mpg. Owner-operators receive extra compensation for any time fuel is $1.15 or greater.

Daily Express is also promoting its empty mile fuel payment to cover the owner-operator's uncompensated fuel cost for empty miles. It is common for carriers to offer some form of fuel surcharge payment for loaded miles however Daily Express has a formal fuel payment to help cover empty miles.