Every Fall, the major shipping carriers add demand surcharges to their regular rates. These extra charges offset the burden of moving a higher-than-average volume of parcels.
This year some are staring in September, but often demand surcharges run from October through mid-January. The charges are put in place during this time when is a significantly higher volume of online shopping which corresponds to a large volume of packages that need to be moved around the US.
Here is a breakdown of this year’s annual peak season and demand surcharges that all shippers can expect to see reflected on their shipping invoice.
This post will continue to be updated to reflect new or changing demand surcharges as carriers publish updates.
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Shipping Carrier Peak Season and Demand Surcharges
Below is an active list of carrier surcharges that will take effect during the 2024 holiday season. This will continue to be updated as the major shipping carriers publish demand surcharges this year.
If you see that we’re missing any relevant surcharges, please email us at [email protected] and we’ll be sure to add or update it. This is a dynamic chart that can be sorted to view the information according to your specific needs (by carrier, by date, etc).
Please note in this chart “annual surcharge” denotes the surcharges that were announced with the general rate increases at the beginning of the calendar year. “Demand surcharge” denotes those that will take place during the Q4 peak season.
2025 High-Impact Demand Surcharges
FedEx
Effective date: October 27, 2025 – November 23, 2025
- 2Day and all Overnight services $1.05
- Ground Residential/Home Delivery $0.40
- Ground Economy $2.20
Effective date: November 24, 2025 – December 28, 2025
- 2Day and all Overnight services $2.10
- Ground Residential/Home Delivery $0.65
- Ground Economy $3.55
Effective date: December 29, 2025 – January 18, 2026
- 2Day and all Overnight services $1.05
- Ground Residential/Home Delivery $0.40
- Ground Economy $2.20
Get a full list of FedEx demand surcharges here.
UPS
Effective date: October 26, 2025 – November 22, 2025
- Ground Saver (formerly Surepost) $0.40
- Ground Residential $0.40
- Next Day Air $1.10
Effective date: November 23, 2025 – December 27, 2025
- Ground Saver (formerly Surepost) $0.60
- Ground Residential $0.60
- Next Day Air $2.05
Effective date: December 28, 2025 – January 17, 2026
- Ground Saver (formerly Surepost) $0.40
- Ground Residential $0.40
- Next Day Air $1.10
Get a full list of UPS demand surcharges here.
USPS
Effective date: October 5, 2025 – January 18, 2026
Service: Priority Mail
- Zones 1-4, 0-3 lbs. $0.30
- Zones 1-4, 4-10 lbs. $0.45
- Zones 1-4, 11-25 lbs. $0.75
- Zones 1-4, 26-70 lbs. $3.00
- Zones 5-9, 0-3 lbs. $0.70
- Zones 5-9, 4-10 lbs. $1.25
- Zones 5-9, 11-25 lbs. $2.75
- Zones 5-9, 26-70 lbs. $6.50
Service: Ground Advantage
- Zones 1-4, 0-3 lbs. $0.30
- Zones 1-4, 4-10 lbs. $0.45
- Zones 1-4, 11-25 lbs. $0.75
- Zones 1-4, 26-70 lbs. $3.00
- Zones 5-9, 0-3 lbs. $0.35
- Zones 5-9, 4-10 lbs. $0.75
- Zones 5-9, 11-25 lbs. $1.25
- Zones 5-9, 26-70 lbs. $5.50
Service: Priority Mail Express
- Zones 1-4, 0-3 lbs. $1.00
- Zones 1-4, 4-10 lbs. $1.50
- Zones 1-4, 11-25 lbs. $3.50
- Zones 1-4, 26-70 lbs. $8.95
- Zones 5-9, 0-3 lbs. $1.75
- Zones 5-9, 4-10 lbs. $3.95
- Zones 5-9, 11-25 lbs. $7.50
- Zones 5-9, 26-70 lbs. $13.00
Get a full list of USPS demand surcharges here.
What are Demand Surcharges?
Q4 is historically the busiest time of year for shipping carriers. The season brings gift-giving holidays like Christmas, annual sales events like Black Friday, and higher-than-average package return rates in January. All this combined means it’s the busiest shipping time of the year.
While all carriers have slight differences in their demand surcharge schedule, generally these surcharges are in effect between late-October and mid-January. Some carriers have rates that increase again for the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas, which historically marks the peak of the higher-than-average package volume.
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Tags: Freight, Shipping Carrier Updates
