Maersk is raising its emergency fuel surcharge to 20 per cent for affected UK less than container load (LCL) export collections and import deliveries from 12 October 2026. The increase follows higher fuel costs linked by the company to disruption associated with the Middle East conflict, and the rate is subject to regular review. It applies to the specified inland collection and delivery activities under the relevant customer arrangements.
LCL services combine consignments from several customers within a container, making their collection and distribution arrangements different from those used for a full container load. Cargo may be collected from a factory, consolidated with other consignments and subsequently moved through a port before being separated for delivery after arrival. The inland movement associated with that process has its own service terms and can therefore carry a charge distinct from ocean carriage or terminal handling.
The 20 per cent rate has a confirmed effective date, although its precise calculation base, customer exclusions and treatment under bespoke contracts depend on the applicable quotations and agreements. A surcharge on an inland collection or delivery fee has a smaller monetary base than a percentage applied to the complete international freight invoice. Assessing the cost of an individual shipment therefore requires the relevant service price as well as the published percentage.
Maersk had previously announced a separate UK intermodal fuel fee of 10.6 per cent for truck and rail services from 1 October, setting out its own conditions in a September customer advisory. The earlier fee and the new emergency LCL charge address different published service arrangements. Any overlap or customer-specific treatment must be established from the corresponding contracts, rather than assuming the October change supersedes every previously quoted inland rate.
An exporter purchasing a collection service directly will encounter the additional charge through its logistics arrangements, while another may sell goods on terms that leave inland transport with the purchaser or freight forwarder. Likewise, an importer purchasing delivered components may receive the transport expense within its supplier’s total price. The underlying movement may be similar, but the commercial responsibility for the charge follows the transport agreement.
Even where a consignment travels through several transport stages, only the activities included within the relevant surcharge arrangement establish the cost impact. Port handling, sea carriage, customs clearance and warehousing can be priced separately from the UK collection or delivery. Applying the 20 per cent rate to all those services would misstate the change unless an individual contract expressly provided for that calculation.
Road collections rely heavily on diesel vehicles, whose consumption varies with route length, loading, traffic, waiting time and operating conditions. Hauliers also pay for drivers, vehicles, maintenance and depots, so diesel represents one part of the total transport cost. A fuel surcharge allows some exposure to price volatility to be allocated through the customer tariff without requiring every element of the underlying haulage price to change.
Intermodal journeys may include diesel or electric rail traction and additional transfers at terminals, creating a cost structure different from a direct road collection. Charges relating to those legs follow the transport services actually purchased, with separate contractual arrangements sometimes governing the road movement at either end. The earlier UK intermodal fee reflects that different service category and should be read alongside its published conditions.
Fuel markets have faced renewed pressure from attacks on shipping around the Strait of Hormuz and concerns about international oil supplies. Changes in crude oil and refined fuel prices can affect carriers at different times according to their purchasing and supply agreements. Maersk has attributed the emergency increase to fuel costs, while leaving individual customers to determine the financial effect through their service contracts.
Manufacturers importing components or exporting finished products may encounter the charge directly when they procure UK LCL collection and delivery services. Where a supplier manages the shipment under delivered terms, the same transport expense may instead be absorbed by the supplier or recovered through a later price adjustment. The commercial terms governing responsibility for inland freight determine where the cost appears in the manufacturing supply chain.
Shipment frequency, cargo value and the proportion of expenditure attributable to inland transport will shape the effect on individual businesses. Repeated movements of relatively low value materials can make collection and delivery charges more significant as a proportion of the shipment’s value. By contrast, a large increase in a narrowly defined haulage surcharge may still represent only a modest change in the total cost of a high value industrial product.
Because Maersk intends to review the emergency rate as fuel conditions change, the 20 per cent charge has no announced fixed expiry date or predetermined reduction. The relevant quotation and transport contract will establish how it is applied to collections and deliveries from 12 October. Customers using other Maersk inland products will continue to need the corresponding service notice, including the separately published intermodal terms, to calculate their charges.
