Rates and fuel: August surcharges across Europe
Carriers and operators in Germany, Poland, the Benelux and Estonia are publishing their August fuel surcharge mechanisms, which must be included in road and multimodal pricing calculations. For European freight forwarding, it is essential to separate the base rate, fuel surcharge and road tolls, as their levels and calculation rules remain clearly different across markets.
Prepared by the CargoNice editorial team with AI support, based on the sources listed and CargoNice's own market data. Machine translation of the Polish original. Editorial policy · Read the Polish original
Market today in figures (CargoNice data)
The Orlen diesel price was 6,21 PLN/l on 2026-08-07, representing an increase of 0,01 PLN/l compared with the previous reading. According to the EU diesel price bulletin dated 2026-08-03, fuel cost 1 878,83 EUR/1000L in Poland, 2 208,00 EUR/1000L in Germany and 2 043,11 EUR/1000L on average across the EU.
On the spot market, the Germany–Poland lane reached 1,12 EUR/km on 2026-08-05, a change of -0,05 EUR/km compared with the previous reading, while the Poland–Germany lane stood at 1,65 EUR/km, up by 0,02 EUR/km. The EUR/PLN exchange rate was 4,2982 PLN on 2026-08-06, while the supply indicator was 5,70 loads/vehicle, based on the reading from 2026-07-15. The market picture is therefore asymmetrical: fuel costs are rising, but the spot rate on the Germany–Poland lane has fallen.
Germany: Contargo lowers the fuel index for truck transport
Contargo set the Terminal and Truck Fuel Surcharge index for August 2026 at 11. The calculation is based on the average German diesel price in June: 183,48 cents/l, compared with 199,44 cents/l used to calculate the July index. Source: Contargo
For index 11, the published surcharges are 6 EUR per 10 km, 30 EUR per 50 km and 60 EUR per 100 km. These apply to terminal and trucking costs, so they should be used when pricing pre- and on-carriage legs in the German container logistics chain, rather than treated as part of the main rate itself.
Poland: DHL Freight maintains a 33,5% surcharge
DHL Freight Poland is keeping the fuel surcharge for Terminal Based Operations at 33,5% for August 2026. The surcharge is calculated on the base transport price before additional services are added. Source: DHL Freight Poland
The carrier links the index to Orlen net fuel prices and the European Commission’s weekly fuel bulletin, and reserves the right to change it as fuel costs change. In practice, the line-haul rate alone is not sufficient to compare offers for palletised and groupage shipments handled under this model.
Belgium: DHL Freight lowers its August fuel surcharge
DHL Freight Belgium published a road transport fuel surcharge of 13,71% for August 2026. This is lower than July’s 14,28% and applies to DHL Road Freight Standard and Direct/Euronet products. Source: DHL Freight Belgium
The mechanism is based on data from the European Commission’s fuel bulletin. DHL continues to list separate surcharges related to road tolls on the relevant Belgian, German and Dutch routes. The fuel line should therefore not be replaced in the calculation by one combined cost item.
The Netherlands: DHL surcharge remains at 13,0%
DHL Freight Netherlands kept its fuel surcharge at 13,0% for European road transport in August 2026. The level is unchanged from July, while the table shows that it stood at 6,5% in August 2025. Source: DHL Freight Netherlands
The announcement also provides country-dependent currency adjustment factors, including 14,2% for Switzerland and 7,5% for the Czech Republic. Separate road toll calculation rules also remain in place for haulage subject to Dutch and Belgian tolls.
Estonia: different levels for domestic and international markets
DHL Freight Estonia has published a fuel surcharge of 12,5% for domestic services and 9,0% for international services for August 2026. This distinction should be maintained when comparing haulage offers in the Baltic region. Source: DHL Freight Estonia
The company also applies a Mobility Package surcharge to the relevant road transport services, reflecting the cost of EU regulations. DHL’s international table contains different surcharges for groups of European destinations, so the stated fuel percentage does not necessarily represent the full additional cost on a given route.
Belgium: CLdN publishes a fuel reference of 1,759 EUR/l
CLdN set the August road fuel reference at 1,759 EUR/l under its monthly freight adjustment mechanism. The reference is based on monthly average fuel prices published by the European Commission. Source: CLdN
The fuel adjustment is shown as a separate item on the freight invoice. This is relevant to offers combining road transport and short sea, where the agreed freight price should not automatically be treated as inclusive of all surcharges.