Maersk hikes truck fuel surcharges to 20% in Skopje, 12.5% in Greece

Maersk will charge a 20% truck fuel surcharge in Skopje and 12.5% in Greece from 16 November 2026, as Middle East-linked fuel costs push the carrier into an exceptional inland pricing regime.

The gap between the two markets is the story's hard number. Shippers moving trucked cargo into or out of North Macedonia will pay a surcharge 7.5 percentage points higher than their Greek counterparts — a meaningful wedge on any invoiced freight bill, applied on top of base truck rates rather than replacing them.

Maersk frames the move as an exceptional measure. Higher fuel costs tied to developments in the Middle East have made its usual pricing mechanics unworkable, and the carrier said the surcharge will stay in place "for as long as necessary" to cover the additional costs of current market conditions. That phrasing carries no expiry date. Shippers should read it accordingly.

What changes in the billing mechanics?

The more consequential shift is cadence, not percentage. Maersk has abandoned its previous monthly adjustment process and will now review the applicable fuel surcharges weekly. Updated rates go out every Friday, effective for the following week — and, notably, without the application of the usual adjustment trigger.

That trigger detail matters. Normally, a surcharge mechanism only activates once fuel prices move past a defined threshold. Suspending it means Maersk can reprice every week regardless of how small the fuel movement is. For shippers and forwarders budgeting Greek or Balkan inland legs, monthly cost planning has effectively become weekly cost monitoring.

The charges will land on customer invoices under two codes: Export Fuel Surcharge (EFS) and Import Fuel Surcharge (IFS). Finance teams should flag both codes now, before November invoices start arriving with line items that don't match September's assumptions.

How is the rate date calculated?

For non-FMC shipments, the applicable Price Calculation Date (PCD) generally follows the estimated departure date of the first vessel in the latest booking confirmation. In plain terms: the surcharge in force when your first vessel sails is the one you pay, not the rate quoted when the deal was struck.

Different calculation rules apply in two cases. FMC-regulated shipments follow their own regime, and import movements where inland transportation is arranged after cargo has departed its origin port are also treated separately. Importers booking trucking late in the cycle should check which rule captures their shipment before assuming the Friday-published rate applies.

What does this change for shippers?

Practically, three things. First, cost volatility: a weekly reset means a quoted landed cost for Greek or Skopje trucking holds for seven days at most. Second, administrative load: EFS and IFS lines will fluctuate invoice to invoice, which complicates accruals and margin calculations for forwarders reselling Maersk inland haulage. Third, precedent: if fuel volatility persists, other carriers serving the same corridors tend to follow the leader on surcharge mechanics — weekly reviews without triggers are not a tradition anyone wants to normalize, but they are a tool now visibly in use.

Maersk says it will keep monitoring fuel market conditions and review the surcharges individually across the affected markets, adjusting further where necessary. Given the weekly review loop is already running, shippers should expect the 12.5% and 20% figures to move — in either direction — with each Friday bulletin.