Peak shipping season rates, fees and surcharges cheat sheet

September 29, 2022
  

It's official. Peak shipping season is here. As always, we have all the details so you can plan ahead and avoid any unexpected charges. See what services are affected, get all the rates, surcharges, and fees, and tips on how to save!

 

Here’s a quick review of major changes: 

 

  • USPS® to temporarily increase prices for Holiday Season

USPS price increase will go into effect on Oct. 2 and run until Jan. 22, 2023. The planned peak-season pricing will affect prices on commercial and retail domestic competitive parcels – Priority Mail Express, Priority Mail, First-Class Package Service, Parcel Select Ground, and USPS Retail Ground.

Get the details >>

 

  • FedEx® has announced announce peak surcharges 

FedEx surcharges will go into effect on Sep. 5, 2022, and run until Jan. 15, 2023. These new surcharges will impact key services this holiday season, including FedEx Express and FedEx Ground:

  • Additional Handling Surcharge
  • Oversize Charge
  • Ground Unauthorized Package Charge
  • and FedEx Ground® Economy Package Services

Know the fees >>

 

  • UPS® peak surcharges for the Holiday Season

UPS has announced its peak season surcharges for 2022 and it will impact high-volume shippers.

  • The Peak/Demand Surcharge applied to UPS® Air Residential, UPS® Ground Residential, and UPS SurePost® Packages will go into effect on Oct. 30, 2022, and run until Jan. 14, 2023.
  • Larger shipments requiring additional handling will incur a surcharge from Oct. 2, 2022, and run until Jan. 14, 2023.

Read the article >>

 

Tips to reduce the impact:

 

  • Rate shop multiple carriers or use software that can do it for you.

Rate shopping is when you compare the prices of different carriers and services. This allows you to compare rates and delivery options. It helps you get the best price for your shipment and make the best decision. By rate shopping, you're helping your business by better controlling what you spend on shipping and giving yourself more opportunities to save. If you are only shipping with one carrier right now, you don't know what other options are available. One of the other major carriers might be able to provide faster or less expensive service for what you are sending…and you wouldn't know!

Don't spend hours manually shopping and comparing rates, Neoship is the must-have multi-carrier shipping software for small and medium-sized businesses.

Explore Neoship >>

 

  • Use package services that are not subject to Dimensional weight (DIM weight).

Dimensional weight is used to calculate the shipping cost of larger packages with lower weights (aka light packages) that take up a lot of valuable space in a delivery truck or airplane.

Because of dimensional weight, sending large, bulky packages can get expensive and affect your business’s bottom line. Businesses should be aware of dimensional weight pricing and try to fit packages in the smallest packaging available. You can also explore flat-rate shipping options to be sure that your shipments won’t be charged based on the dimensional weight. 

Learn more about DIM Weight >>

 

At Quadient, we’ve been staying on top of all the mailing and shipping news so we can bring you the highlights and keep you in the know. You also can keep up with the latest mailing, shipping, and postage rate news by subscribing to our newsletter mailing list. No matter what the future brings, we are here to help improve your mailing and shipping processes.

 

Related Articles: 

Knowledge Center