For enterprise retailers, shipping has evolved from a fulfilment function into a critical margin battleground.
Over the past 12–18 months, one cost driver has become increasingly volatile, and increasingly damaging: carrier fuel surcharges.
While often positioned as temporary or variable adjustments, fuel surcharges are now a persistent and rising cost layer that many retailers struggle to control, predict, or optimise. But the real challenge isn’t just the increase itself, it’s how exposed retailers are to it.
For those operating with limited carrier flexibility, every surcharge change is passed through directly, turning external volatility into an immediate impact on margins.
From temporary adjustment to permanent cost layer
Fuel surcharges were originally introduced as a mechanism to account for short-term fluctuations in fuel prices. In practice, they have evolved into a permanent component of carrier pricing.
Major carriers apply fuel surcharges as a percentage-based uplift on base shipping rates, adjusted regularly in line with fuel price indices. In recent market conditions, they have represented a significant share of total shipping costs, reaching as high as 25–26% depending on fuel prices and service type.
Crucially, fuel surcharges are not limited to base transportation rates. They are often applied across multiple additional charges, including handling, delivery area, and peak surcharges, compounding their overall impact on the total cost per shipment.
Rather than appearing occasionally, surcharges are now continuously applied and increasingly complex in how they are calculated. For retailers, what was once a temporary adjustment is now embedded into the cost of every shipment.
Why fuel volatility is becoming harder to predict
Fuel volatility on its own is not new. What has changed is how directly it impacts retailers.
If your business is currently locked into a single carrier, you may be limiting your flexibility. Every fuel price increase, every surcharge adjustment, every seasonal spike is passed directly onto your business.
This creates a dangerous dynamic:
• Margins are squeezed without warning
• Forecasting becomes unreliable
• Shipping costs become reactive instead of strategic
There’s no flexibility. No negotiating leverage at scale. No fallback option.
How single-carrier models remove flexibility
A single-carrier model removes the ability to make dynamic decisions at the point of dispatch.
You can’t:
• Switch carriers based on price
• Optimise for delivery speed
• Adjust based on destination or parcel type
• Allocate each order to the best delivery option based on recent performance
This results in a “one-size-fits-all” approach to delivery, which is rarely the most cost-effective or efficient option.
From Cost Centre to Strategic Lever: The Multi-Carrier Approach
The retailers best positioned to manage rising shipping costs are not those trying to eliminate fuel surcharges, but those reducing their exposure to them.
Instead of relying on a single carrier, leading retailers are increasingly viewing shipping as a strategic optimisation layer across the entire fulfilment journey, rather than simply a fixed operational cost. To support this shift, they are adopting a multi-carrier approach that introduces flexibility and control into their shipping operations.
What a multi-carrier strategy looks like in practice
A multi-carrier model enables retailers to access a broader network of carriers and services, rather than being tied to a single pricing structure.
This allows them to:
• Compare shipping options in real time while managing carrier volume allocation
• Select the most cost-effective carrier for each order
• Balance cost, speed, and service levels dynamically
Instead of making static decisions at contract level, shipping becomes a continuous optimisation process at order level.
Responding to fuel and rate changes in real time
When fuel surcharges increase or carrier rates shift, retailers operating within a multi-carrier model are not locked into a single outcome.
They can:
• Redirect volume to more cost-effective carriers whilst balancing carrier volume allocation
• Adjust service selection based on current pricing
• Minimise the impact of sudden cost increases
This ability to respond in real time transforms volatility from a risk into something that can be actively managed.
Turning Flexibility into Control
With the right technology in place, shipping can move beyond a reactive cost and become a controllable, optimised part of the business.
Retailers can:
• Reduce cost per parcel at scale
• Improve delivery performance and customer experience
• Access actionable data through real-time reporting and analytics
• Enable smarter decision-making across logistics and operations
This is where multi-carrier technology becomes essential.
How Scurri’s Multi-Carrier Platform Solves Rising Shipping Costs
Scurri’s multi-carrier platform is designed specifically to give retailers control back over their shipping operations.
Instead of relying on a single carrier, Scurri allows you to automatically route every order to the most cost-effective option in real time, drawing from a carrier library of over 1,500 carrier services.
At the same time, retailers benefit from:
• Centralised tracking across all carriers
• Advanced reporting and performance insights including carrier volume allocation and carrier SLA
• Full visibility into shipping costs and delivery outcomes
Take Back Control of Your Shipping Strategy
If rising carrier costs and fuel surcharges are impacting your margins, it’s time to rethink your approach.
Scurri gives you the flexibility, visibility, and control needed to optimise shipping at scale, without disruption.
Stop paying for carrier fuel hikes. Start optimising around them.