Every year, shipping carriers increase the rates for their services, hitting retailers below the belt, as if the damage they do during the holiday season weren’t enough.
This year, there have been identical rate increases across both carriers on multiple services.
FedEx has announced its General Rate Increase (GRI), which will be effective from January 6, 2020, with an average increase of 4.9% on Express shipments and 5.9% on FedEx Freight.
UPS, on the other hand, will increase the rates of its services an average of 4.9% effective from December 29.
However, one can see an increase of more than 11% in certain cases.
Being aware of shipping rates can help you plan out your shipping strategy in advance and put you ahead in your last-mile game.
That might seem a challenge, but worry not! In order to save you time, we’ve charted out the data for you!
Some of the highlights from the upcoming price changes
FedEx has increased the rates of its International Premium®, Express, Ground Multiweight®, Freight, and SmartPost services.
In addition to the mentioned services, it has also increased its additional surcharges in the following ways:
- A rise of 25% on Extended Service Area Delivery from $140 per shipment to $175.
- An increase of $200 on Ground Unauthorized Packages from $675 per package to $875.
- Their surcharges for weight will apply on FedEx Express® and FedEx Ground® U.S. domestic packages if a package has an actual weight greater than 50 lbs, which was earlier applicable only for shipments with a weight greater than 70 lbs.
- Surcharges applying to any freight handling unit that measures greater than 70 inches along its longest side will now be applied to unit measures greater than 62 inches along its longest side.
UPS, on the other hand, has made the following changes:
- A rebill fee for each request to change the billing account for a shipment.
- A prohibited Item fee for packages containing prohibited articles or restricted articles not in compliance with all UPS policies & procedures and applicable laws & regulations if found in the UPS system.
- Value-added services and other charges will apply to undeliverable packages returned to the shipper. A late payment fee will be applied if an invoice is no