Quoting a van lane with the surcharge split out

A worked example of reading a broker's all-in offer and pulling the fuel portion back out, so the linehaul can be compared week to week even while diesel moves.

The offer

A 53-foot dry van load, 812 loaded miles, offered at $2,450 all-in. The shipper contract behind it pegs fuel at $1.25 with a 6 MPG divisor, and this week's diesel average is $3.85.

fsc = FuelSurcharge.for_trip(3.85, 1.25, 6, 812)
#=> 351.6

linehaul = 2450 - fsc
#=> 2098.4

So about $2,098 of the offer is the real linehaul, roughly $2.58 a loaded mile, and the rest is fuel that will shrink or grow with the weekly price.

Why split it

• Comparing two weeks of the same lane only makes sense on linehaul. A rate that "went up" may be nothing but a diesel spike.
• When diesel falls, an all-in quote that looked fine can quietly drop below your cost per mile.
• Counter-offers land better when you can say which part of the number you are pushing on.

This is the habit we see in dispatchers who quote van freight by the lane: they keep the linehaul history clean and let the surcharge float. TruckLeap writes about that kind of planning in how a desk plans a week of van freight.