1) Couriers and freight companies in Canada are (with a few exceptions) using a standard rate set by the Freight Carriers Association/North American Transportation Council. http://www.ntscanada.com/CFS.asp http://www.fca-natc.org/INFO/FLCDN11.htm
2) Some companies spell out their calculation based on a third party fuel cost audit - http://www.purolator.com/dbwp/fuel_surcharge.html
3) Some companies could not tell me their calculation but instead said 'it wasn't that much to worry about'
When gas prices were doing crazy things a few years ago, I understood that businesses had not anticipated that huge increase in their overhead cost, so fuel surcharges were added/negotiated onto contract prices. Prices had been set based upon their standard operating costs plus profit. Years later, we still have fuel surcharges, AND increased costs - when reviewing bids for waste removal, not a single vendor provided their fuel surcharge within their quotes...yet, I know each of them charge surcharges.
Are fuel surcharges a new way to beat the price comparison? Win the business then add on a % cost to make up the profit? In 2006, Daniel Gross wrote an article on this topic, yet nothing seems to have changed?
As buyers, I hope you now request vendors provide their fuel surcharge calculation/table in their quotes for your business - or put it under some other scrutiny. When comparing the waste management company bids, I found the lowest bids had the highest fuel surcharges...
In addition, I found a local university purchasing department has set what it will ALLOW for freight surcharges http://web.uvic.ca/purc/fuel.php
