Each year all major shipping carriers increase rates across many of their services.
These are generalized increases that may or may not affect your overall shipping costs. Many brands often find a discrepancy between what is announced by carriers and the actual changes the see on their shipping invoice.
Please note these annual rate increases do not include surcharges.
Note this year’s holiday ship-by dates to ensure all gifts get to their destination on time.
2023 Average Rate Increases
Rate Increase Highlights
FedEx
Effective January 2, 2023
The average rate increase across all FedEx services: 6.9%
Highlights:
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NEW: Remote Surcharges will add $13.25 for any delivery. This is effective January 30, 2023, and affects almost 4,000 ZIP Codes. The fee is the same for commercial and residential shipments.
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Home Delivery Residential surcharge is increasing by over 8%. Delivery Area Surcharges for Home Delivery will increase by 10% or more.
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Additional Handling and Oversize will increase between 14% to almost 23%.
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Ground minimum package charge (zone 2, 1 pound list rate) increased by 7.9% to $10.10.
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Increased rates for longer zones (6 – 8) more than for closer zones.
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There will be no increase of the Delivery and Returns fee and the Delivery Area Surcharge for Ground Economy.
Read the full announcement.
UPS
Effective December 27, 2022
The average rate increase across all UPS services: 6.9%
Highlights
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The rates for UPS® Ground, UPS Air and International services will increase an average net 6.9%.
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The rates for UPS Air Freight within and between the US, Canada and Puerto Rico will increase an average net 6.2%.
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The following changes will go into effect:
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Scheduled Pickups Options will no longer vary by weekly billing total
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Late Payment Fee will increase from 6% to 8%
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Peak/Demand Surcharges will also be referred to as Demand Surcharges
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The list of ZIP codes aligned to certain zones will change
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Read the full announcement.
USPS
Effective January 22, 2023
The average rate increase across USPS services: 4.2%
Highlights:
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There will be a three-cent increase in the price of a First-Class Mail Forever stamp from 60 cents to 63 cents.
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The Postal Service is also seeking price adjustments for Special Services products including Certified Mail, Post Office Box rental fees, money order fees and the cost to purchase insurance when mailing an item.
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Below are the cost increases across popular USPS services.
Read the full announcement.
How the New Rates Affect Shippers
These are generalized rate increases. The changes listed here combined with your individual shipping needs will vary.
Generally, if your brand has any of the following characteristics, it is likely that you will see larger increases than the average percentage stated.
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Ships large packages
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Has a high percentage of long zone shipments
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Has many accessorial charges
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Charges as a percentage of overall spend
Tags: Shipping carrier updates
