Maersk has set its Intermodal Fuel Fee at 27% across five Australian states and nationwide New Zealand, effective 1 October 2026. The level applies uniformly to Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia, marking the carrier's latest recalibration of landside charges in the trans-Tasman market.

The fee operates through two instruments: an Export Fuel Surcharge and an Import Fuel Surcharge, both attached to Maersk's landside transportation services rather than the ocean leg itself. Maersk first introduced the fee on 16 March 2026, meaning shippers have now lived through multiple review cycles before the October reset.

The uniform 27% level across every listed market stands out. There is no differentiation between Australia's eastern seaboard states, where port-dense corridors like Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane concentrate container volumes, and Western Australia, whose landside legs run longer and thinner. Shippers in Perth and Auckland will pay the same percentage load on their truck and rail moves as those moving boxes out of Botany Bay.

Maersk attributed the charge to higher global energy prices and the impact of the Middle East security situation on fuel availability and intermodal transport costs. That reasoning ties a landside surcharge in Australasia to a distant geopolitical driver — a linkage carriers across the industry have leaned on as bunkers and road fuel prices have climbed.

For shippers, the commercial consequence is direct. Any consignment moving under Maersk's intermodal product in the affected markets will carry a 27% fuel-related load on the landside component from 1 October 2026. Importers and exporters who bundle door-to-door moves with the carrier's truck and rail services cannot sidestep the fee by adjusting port pairs, because every listed state and all of New Zealand sit at the same level. The only variables left are modal mix, distance and the underlying drayage or rail rate the percentage attaches to.

For forwarders and BCOs pricing comparative door quotes, the move narrows the gap between carrier-controlled intermodal and third-party landside arrangements — at least on paper. Whether independent truck and rail providers in Australia and New Zealand pass through equivalent fuel costs will determine how much of the 27% actually reaches the customer invoice versus being absorbed elsewhere in the chain.

The monthly review mechanism matters as much as the headline number. Maersk has committed to reviewing surcharge levels monthly and stated that further adjustments may be introduced as market conditions develop. That gives the carrier a fast lever: if energy prices ease, the fee can come down within weeks; if the Middle East situation tightens fuel supply further, Australasian shippers could face a steeper percentage before the next quarter closes. Budgeting a fixed intermodal cost against a surcharge reset every 30 days is now part of the planning reality for Maersk customers in the region.

The structure also signals how the carrier prices risk. By separating fuel exposure into a dedicated intermodal fee on top of the Export and Import Fuel Surcharges, Maersk keeps its base landside rates stable while moving volatility into a transparent, frequently adjusted add-on. Shippers gain visibility but inherit the volatility.

Watch the November review. With monthly resets locked in and the carrier explicitly flagging further adjustments, the 27% level effective 1 October 2026 is best read as a waypoint, not a ceiling, for intermodal fuel costs across Australia and New Zealand.