Maersk will charge shippers in Serbia a 14.5% intermodal fuel fee on trucked container moves from 1 October 2026, the highest of five new surcharge levels the Danish carrier has set across the Balkans.

The revised Export Fuel Surcharge and Import Fuel Surcharge levels apply to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia, Serbia and Slovenia, based on the delivery date, and remain in force until further notice, the carrier announced.

The new truck surcharge levels by market:

• Serbia – 14.5%
• Bosnia and Herzegovina – 14%
• Croatia – 10%
• Montenegro – 10%
• Slovenia – 10%

Maersk framed the adjustment as temporary and tied it to two drivers: rising global energy prices and the impact of the Middle East security situation on fuel availability and inland transportation costs.

Why does this matter for shippers and forwarders?

The fees are percentage-based levies on truck transportation, meaning cost exposure scales directly with the underlying freight and inland haulage spend in each market. Shippers moving cargo to and from Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina will carry the heaviest load, at 14.5% and 14% respectively, while Croatia, Montenegro and Slovenia sit at a uniform 10%.

Because the trigger is the delivery date rather than the booking date, any consignment delivered on or after 1 October 2026 will attract the new levels — including cargo booked and loaded earlier. Forwarders quoting door moves in the region should build the revised percentages into quotes now to avoid margin erosion on deliveries that slip into October.

Importers and exporters using Maersk's landside network in these five markets should also expect the charges to persist indefinitely: the carrier has set no expiry date, stating only that the levels remain in force "until further notice." That leaves shippers exposed to whatever trajectory energy prices and Middle East-driven fuel supply disruptions take over the coming months.

What does Maersk say is behind the move?

The carrier said the revised fees are intended to maintain service continuity, protect cargo flows and secure sufficient vendor capacity across its landside network.

That language signals the commercial mechanics behind the surcharge: Maersk contracts trucking vendors across its Balkan inland network, and rising fuel input costs squeeze those vendors' capacity commitments. Passing the cost through as a percentage fee lets the carrier keep trucks available without absorbing the margin hit itself.

For carriers more broadly, the move is a textbook fuel-cost pass-through at a time of elevated energy prices, and other operators with inland networks in the region may follow with similar adjustments of their own.

What happens next?

With the surcharges open-ended and anchored to volatile energy prices and Middle East security dynamics, Balkan shippers should plan for these levels to hold or rise through the fourth quarter, and watch for Maersk's next revision notice as the primary signal of direction.