Start here: Ask your 3PL for one sample holiday invoice built around your own order. Work through what each fee means together, before those charges appear across hundreds of shipments.
“Carrier surcharges are going up” is an understandable heads-up. It is not yet enough information to update a budget—or explain a larger invoice to your finance team.
You do not need a confrontational conversation. You need a shared explanation of what changes and how the bill will show it.
1. Which part of this is a carrier charge?
Ask the provider to separate carrier transportation, fuel, seasonal charges, and warehouse work. If it charges for extra holiday labor or a special project, have that identified separately from carrier fees. A commercial agreement can bundle services, but the explanation should still make the scope clear.
A useful opening is: “Can we walk through one order together so we know what to budget and what the invoice will call each charge?”
2. What exactly is fuel calculated on?
This question matters because a percentage needs a defined base. FedEx's U.S. fuel guidance says that, for applicable shipments using the percentage calculation, fuel can apply to the net package rate plus specified surcharges. Its guidance also makes the customer agreement authoritative for the calculation and adjustment frequency. FedEx fuel policy.
Do not apply that rule to every carrier or every service. Instead, ask your partner to identify the rule that applies to your shipment and show the arithmetic.
Illustrative example only: At an assumed 20% fuel rate, a $10 eligible charge base produces $2 of fuel. If an additional $1 fee is also fuel-eligible under the applicable terms, the base becomes $11 and fuel becomes $2.20. These invented inputs explain the question; they are not a current carrier rate or quote.
3. Is the fee passed through, marked up, or included?
Have the answer tied to your agreement. “Pass-through” should come with a usable explanation of which amount is passed through and how any adjustment is handled. If the price is bundled, ask which changes are already included so you do not add them again in your own spreadsheet.
Request evidence sufficient to reconcile your bill. That does not require access to other customers' invoices or confidential account information.
4. Which date decides the charge?
Ask what event triggers each charge and how the date appears in your billing detail. Write down the start and end dates, time zone where relevant, and what happens when an invoice covers more than one rate period.
Agree who will notify you of a revision and where the latest version of the schedule will live. A forwarded email is easy to lose during a busy launch.
5. Can we trace an invoice line to an order?
Build a small shared record:
| Item | What to agree |
|---|---|
| Reference | Shipment or order identifier |
| Fee | Plain-language description and invoice label |
| Calculation | Eligible amount or units multiplied by the applicable rate |
| Source | Carrier notice or your agreed commercial terms |
| Question owner | Contact who can explain or correct the charge |
Try it on a routine parcel and an exception, not only the easiest example.
6. How will we resolve a mismatch?
Agree how to submit a question, what supporting detail to attach, and when to expect a response. Keep disputed lines separate from confirmed lines so one confusing charge does not derail the whole reconciliation.
End the call with a short written recap. The aim is simple: neither team should be discovering the other's assumptions after the holiday rush.
Helpful next steps
Research note
Checked September 22, 2026. FedEx's official fuel policy supplied the specific calculation distinction. The questions, worksheet, and numerical example are our editorial work. We did not inspect any provider agreement or customer invoice, and this article establishes no particular 3PL's billing practices.