FedEx and UPS have announced a series of price rises and new surcharges, combined with a lower weight threshold, that could leave shippers facing increases of 15-24%, with cost hikes in excess of 50%.
There are several new surcharges being imposed, with UPS levying a $17 fee for requests to change the billing account of a shipment, a $150 charge for prohibited articles or restricted items, and a processing fee of $150 for requests to file a single entry for shipments that qualify for clearance under a consolidated manifest.
Both companies have raised charges for “extended area” deliveries (to remote locations) and upped handling charges for oversize and heavy items.
However, the largest impact will come from their lowering the threshold for heavy shipments from 70lbs to 50lbs.
We would urge any shippers affected by this change to contact us immediately, as we can offer much more cost-effective alternatives.
While the general rate increase of 4.9% is significant, it is the combination of higher ancillary charges for heavy items and the lower weight threshold that is going to have the biggest impact on shippers.
Shippers of parcels weighing over 50lbs face increases of 15-24% on top of rate and fuel increases, with the overall cost hikes in excess of 50%.
Shippers moving parcel below the 50lb threshold will be largely unaffected by the integrators’ new pricing regimes.
Large shippers with a relatively high number of heavy parcels face significant additional costs, which can be mitigated by contacting Global Forwarding.
N114FE Federal Express (FedEx) 2015 Boeing 767-3S2F(ER) c/n 42712 “Jade” by Tomás Del Coro is licensed under CC
