We’ve entered rate change season!  At Quadient, we’ve been staying on top of all the news so we can bring you the highlights and keep you in the know. We want to make sure your business can get ahead of the changes and have outlined ways to help reduce the impact on your bottom line.

UPS® Rate Change

Effective Date: December 26, 2021

Affected services: 

• UPS Ground, UPS Air and International services increased an average net 5.9%.
• UPS Air Freight within and between the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico increased an average net 5.2%.

• UPS Retail Rates, UPS Simple Rate shipments and UPS SurePost services increased.

Learn more on UPS shipping costs and rates page

FedEx® Rate Change

Effective Date: January 3, 2022 

Affected Services:

• FedEx Express, FedEx Ground, FedEx Home Delivery and FedEx Freight increased by an average of 5.9%.
• FedEx Ground Economy shipping rates will also increased.

Learn more on FedEx Newsroom 

USPS® Rate Change

Effective Date: January 9, 2022

Affected Services:

• Shipping service rates only
• There will be no changes to First-Class Mail®, Certified Mail®. The changes will be solely for the products listed below.
• USPS Non-Standard Fees and Dimension Noncompliance Fees that were to go into effect January 9th will be delayed until April 3, 2022.
• All USPS postage rates files are now available here. 

Also, look out for our webinar in mid-January when our top postal experts will go over all of these changes in detail. Invitations will be sent through email starting in early January. You can sign up for our newsletter and webinar invitations here. 

Priority Mail® 

On average, prices for Priority Mail® will increase 3.1%. The biggest increases will be in the Retail rates (standard rates when going to the Post Office), which will increase 4.5%. Commercial Base prices will only increase 2.7%. Customers may get the Commercial base rates when shipping their parcels using authorized postage payment methods such as Neoship and S.M.A.R.T. 

Priority Mail Express® 

On average, prices for Priority Mail Express® will also increase 3.1%. Retail rates (standard rates when going to the Post Office), which will increase 2.9%, while Commercial Base prices will increase 4.3%. It is important to note that Commercial Base prices still reflect an average of 13.1% discount over Retail pricing. As mentioned above, customers may get the Commercial base rates when shipping their parcels using authorized postage payment methods such as NeoShip and SMART. 

Parcel Select® 

On average, prices for Parcel Select® will increase 5.5%. The good news here is that The Postal Service will introduce USPS Connect Local®, a new service under Parcel Select designed to give neighborhood businesses the ability to deliver products same-day or next-day when sent in their local area. 

Parcel Return Service® 

Parcel Return Service® prices will have an overall price increase of 4.9% on average. 

First-Class Package Service-Commercial® 

First-Class Package Service-Commercial will increase 8.8%. FCPS still remains one of the best options for lightweight (less than 16 oz.) parcels. 

USPS Retail Ground® 

The great news here is that USPS Retail Ground® rates will DECREASE by 7.4%. 

Priority Mail International® 

On average, prices for Priority Mail International® will increase 3.7%.

Note: The USPS® says that deeper discounting may be available to customers through negotiated service agreements. 

First-Class Package International Service (FCPIS)

FCPIS prices will increase 4.2%. As is the case with Priority Mail International®, deeper discounting may be available to customers through negotiated service agreements. 

General Fee Changes 

New for 2022, a fee of $1.50 will be assessed on commercial parcels that are greater than one cubic foot or with a length greater than 22 inches. The fee will also be assessed if the customer does not provide dimensions or provides inaccurate dimensions. 

Also new for 2022, a series of nonstandard fees will be assessed on packages that incur the Postal Service to incur manual handling costs, such as when the dimensions exceed the sortation requirements. 

Read more on USPS Website

Stay up to date on the latest rate changes by signing up for news and updates on our Postage Rate Hub. You can also keep up with the latest mailing, shipping, and rates by subscribing to our Newsletter.

Register To Our 2022 Rate Change Webinar

Save your seat to our digital event where we will break down significant changes to rates, fees, and rules from the USPS, FedEx and UPS. Our top mailing experts will share insider insights, tips and maybe even a hack or two to help you mitigate the effects of the rate hike on your bottom line.

Save your seat!