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As diesel prices continue to skyrocket, can a 40 percent fuel surcharge be on the horizon? On Monday, CSX Intermodal will implement a 37.5 percent fuel surcharge for May. The company's April surcharge stood at 35 percent.

CSXI previously applied fuel surcharges of 29.5 percent in March, 26 percent in February and 27 percent in January. The drayage-only fuel surcharge for May will be 47 percent.

CSXI adjusts its surcharge the first Monday of each month based on the difference between the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) price index the previous Monday (in this case, April 28) and $1.10. CSXI calculates the percent difference between the DOE's "Retail Diesel Fuel Price Index" and $1.10, multiplies the figure by 10 percent and then again by 100. On April 28, the DOE reported a diesel retail price of $4.18 per gallon.

If the U.S. National Average Fuel Index equals or exceeds $2.79 per gallon, CSXI increases its fuel surcharge 0.5 percent for every four-cent increase in fuel price.

Meanwhile, Union Pacific Railroad's carload rate-based Highway Diesel Fuel (HDF) surcharge will rise from April's 21.5 percent to 26.5 percent in May and 28.5 percent in June. The rate-based standard HDF surcharge program is based on the DOE's U.S. average on-highway diesel fuel price.