Temporary Fuel Surcharge
Update: October 1 Fuel Surcharge increased to $6 and will be applied to all LibDib orders that hit a warehouse.
Fuel Surcharge Increase to $6
Update: October 1 Fuel Surcharge increased to $6 and will be applied to all LibDib orders that hit a warehouse.
Fuel Surcharge Increase to $6
Diesel fuel prices have continued to climb, and to keep shipping reliable, we’ve had to raise the temporary fuel surcharge from $3 to $6 per order for orders shipping on or after October 1, 2026. We know this adds to your costs, and we’ll lower it as soon as fuel prices allow.
This change applies to all LibDib markets where products must “hit the dock” including California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, New Jersey, and Wisconsin. In New York and Florida, the fuel surcharge applies only to orders shipped from warehouse inventory. Orders that ship directly, not from warehouse inventory, won’t be charged the surcharge, because those markets have no hit-the-dock requirement.
Since April 1, LibDib has added a fuel surcharge to every order that ships through a warehouse. The new $6 amount reflects the increases our warehouse partners are now passing on to us. Even at $6, the surcharge doesn’t cover the full cost of delivery, and LibDib continues to absorb part of these rising costs so they don’t all fall on you.
How the surcharge is billed
- The fuel surcharge appears as a separate “fuel surcharge” line and is deducted from the payments LibDib makes to Makers.
- Maker and Buyer pricing on the platform does not change.
- For freight shipments, the fuel surcharge appears as a separate line item.
- LibDib does not mark up fuel surcharges.
While we know any cost increase matters, this change is rooted in a long-standing and widely used practice across logistics, shipping, and the alcohol wholesale industry. Fuel surcharges have been used for decades as a way to manage volatility in fuel prices, dating back to the 1970s oil crisis when carriers needed a flexible mechanism to offset sudden spikes in fuel costs. Today, they remain a standard approach used by companies like UPS, FedEx, freight carriers, airlines, and distributors to stabilize pricing without constantly resetting base rates.
At their core, fuel surcharges are a temporary, variable fee designed to protect against unpredictable increases in fuel costs and ensure transportation and delivery services can continue reliably without eroding already thin margins. In distribution, especially in beverage alcohol, margins are structurally low, which makes it necessary to adjust quickly when input costs like fuel rise.
Makers have flexibility in how they handle this change. You can choose to absorb the cost as part of your pricing strategy or pass it through to buyers. Both approaches are common across the industry.
Importantly, this is not intended to be permanent. Fuel surcharges have historically been implemented during periods of volatility and removed or adjusted as conditions stabilize. We will continue to closely monitor fuel trends and market conditions, and our goal is to remove this surcharge as soon as it is viable to do so.
We appreciate your partnership and understanding as we navigate these external cost pressures together while continuing to ensure reliable, compliant, and efficient distribution for your business.