Maersk will raise its Intermodal Fuel Fee for trucked container moves in Guatemala from 14% to 20% and in El Salvador from 7% to 11%, one of the sharpest landside surcharge increases the Danish carrier has pushed through in Central America this year.

The revised Export Fuel Surcharge (EFS) and Import Fuel Surcharge (IFS) levels take effect on 29 September 2026 for non-FMC shipments. For FMC-regulated cargo, the new fees apply from 29 October 2026, based on the price calculation date.

Maersk tied the increases to higher global energy prices and rising landside operating costs, pointing specifically to the Middle East security situation and its knock-on effect on fuel availability and intermodal transport costs.

The new fee levels:

• El Salvador: 7% → 11%
• Guatemala: 14% → 20%

What does this mean for shippers?

For importers and exporters moving containers by truck into El Salvador and Guatemala, the change translates into an immediate uplift in landed landside cost. A shipper in Guatemala paying the previous 14% fuel surcharge on door moves will now face a 20% levy — a six-percentage-point increase that lands on top of ocean freight and existing accessorial charges.

The fees will appear on invoices under the EFS and IFS codes, giving forwarders and shipper finance teams a clear line item to audit. Maersk said the new levels remain effective "until further notice," meaning there is no built-in sunset — shippers should budget for these rates persisting through at least the remainder of 2026.

Why is Maersk raising the fees now?

The carrier said the adjustments aim to maintain service continuity and secure sufficient vendor capacity across its landside network. That framing matters commercially: Maersk is signalling that trucking capacity in the two Central American markets is tight enough that vendors need higher compensation to keep equipment and drivers available for container haulage.

The Middle East security situation, Maersk argued, has disrupted global fuel availability and pushed up the cost base for intermodal transport — a cost the carrier is now passing directly through to cargo interests rather than absorbing.

A pass-through, not a rate play

The increases sit outside Maersk's ocean freight pricing. They are surcharges on the trucking leg of door-to-door moves, the segment where carriers have the least ability to hedge fuel exposure and the most exposure to local vendor economics.

For forwarders quoting all-in door rates into San Salvador or Guatemala City, the 29 September effective date is the operational deadline: quotes issued before that date but invoiced after it will carry the higher EFS/IFS levels for non-FMC shipments, with the 29 October date applying to FMC-regulated cargo.

Shippers with contract landside arrangements booked outside Maersk's intermodal product are unaffected — the fee applies to the carrier's own truck transportation into the two countries.

With the new levels open-ended and global fuel markets still unsettled by Middle East supply disruption, further landside surcharge adjustments from Maersk and its competitors across Central America remain a live possibility.