The rising cost of gasoline, diesel and jet fuel is forcing companies that move people and goods to recoup some of the additional expense, including adding fuel surcharges to ticket prices and freight rates, with the surcharge changing as often as every week.
The U.S. Postal Service is doing the same thing. Its temporary price increase which went into effect in late April is 8% on Priority Mail Express, Priority Mail, USPS Ground Advantage and Parcel Select.
Though the surcharge is set to remain in place until Jan. 17, 2027, the U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors and the Postal Regulatory Commission could raise or lower it at any time — or vote to extend the add-on.
In addition to mailing packages, Alaskans will pay the high cost of fuel when they fly or ship goods into or out of the state. As of last week, the surcharges ranged 6% to more than 30%.
The U.S. war on Iran, along with the Persian Gulf nation’s retaliatory response to close off the Strait of Hormuz to oil tanker traffic, have sent global oil prices up 75% since the start of the year, driving up the price at the pump for gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and other refined products.
The average price for gasoline across the United States is up 40% from a year ago, with diesel and jet fuel up 60% to 70%, according to companies that track commodity prices.
The national average for gasoline last week was over $4.50 a gallon, up from $3.19 a year ago, according to AAA. Last week’s average was over $5.25 in Alaska, and more than $6 in California, the highest in the nation, AAA reported.
Airlines nationwide have raised baggage fees and other charges, in addition to higher air fares, rather than impose fuel-specific passenger ticket surcharges.
Alaska Airlines last month raised its checked-bag fees $5 for the first bag (now $45) and $10 for a second bag (now $55).
There is no change to the free bags allowed for Alaska residents who sign up for the airline’s Club 49 program, which allows three free checked bags for in-state travel and two bags for out-of-state flights.
The airline’s jet fuel costs in the first three months of this year averaged $2.98 a gallon, according to its first-quarter financial report. But the company was expecting April’s bills to average around $4.75 a gallon.
The higher price anticipated for April, May and June “adds approximately $600 million of expense to the second quarter,” the company announced. “We expect to consume approximately 297 million gallons of fuel in the quarter based on our current capacity plan.”
Juneau-based Alaska Seaplanes and its partner Island Air Express based on Prince of Wales Island operate about 20 aircraft serving scheduled routes in Southeast. They imposed a 6% surcharge on all fares in mid-March.
The company cites a nearly 40% increase in fuel costs.
“We just are not able to absorb that,” said company spokesman Andy Kline. “We didn’t want to roll that cost into our fares, because we want it to be temporary,” he said. “We want it to reflect directly the cost that we’re taking on with the fuel.”
The company buys Jet A fuel for its turbine-powered aircraft, and aviation gas for its piston-driven planes.
Alaska Marines Lines, which provides weekly freight barge service from Seattle to Southeast Alaska, as of last week was adding an 18.5% surcharge on all shipments. The rate was 11% in March. It was 9.5% in March 2025.
This spring’s higher rate “reflects the escalation in fuel costs resulting from the continued disruption to global energy markets,” Ryan Dixon, director of marketing and media for the Seattle-based company, said in an email.
“Fuel is a significant component of freight operations, and this volatility is having an impact on transportation costs throughout the industry.”
AML’s surcharge is higher for longer routes that burn more fuel, including its barge service to Cordova, Valdez, Dutch Harbor, the Aleutian Islands, Western Alaska, the Arctic and Hawaii.
TOTE, which operates twice-a-week cargo ships from Tacoma, Washington, to Anchorage, set its surcharge at 29.5% effective May 17. It ties its weekly adjustments to the average U.S. West Coast diesel fuel price, as posted by the U.S. Department of Energy.
Matson, which operates twice-a-week cargo ships from Tacoma to Anchorage and Kodiak, announced its surcharge will increase to 31% as of June 7.
National and international freight haulers are doing the same thing: The surcharge on all services at FedEx will go up to 27.25% on May 24. UPS was adding 31.25% to all air shipments as of last week.
This story originally published in the Wrangell Sentinel.
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