FedEx, UPS Rates Increase Average of 4.9%

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – The average rates for shipping packages via FedEx and UPS will be higher in 2019 as the companies announced their base rates for the year.

For each company, the average delivery rate will increase 4.9%. FedEx’s changes were effective Jan. 7, while UPS’ were effective Dec. 26.

The changes aren’t even across the board, however. For example, shipments sent through FedEx to its Zone 2 that are 10 pounds will see rates increase 5% to $10.84, while 40-pound packages will jump 6% to $18.07.

“The highest increase we saw in the weights we evaluated for FedEx Ground is 6%,” said Partner Ship in a white paper on the rate changes. “Most increases are around 5%, while a handful are on the very low end.”

For FedEx Priority Overnight shipping, the average increase is 5.8%. UPS Ground’s minimum increase is 3.5%, with most changes around a 5% increase. UPS Air, meanwhile, is up an average of 5.7%.

All rate changes can be found in Partner Ship’s white paper here.

Surcharges and fees are also on the rise, as only FedEx Express and Ground’s additional handling charges for packages above 70 pounds and FedEx’s thirty-party billing fees went unchanged from 2018.

Among the biggest changes are the charges for large packages. FedEx Express and Ground’s oversize charge – for items greater than 96 inches long and 130 long and wide – is up 12.5% to $80. At UPS, the over maximum limit surcharge, for packages weighing more than 150 pounds, longer than 108 inches or a combined length and width of 165 inches, is up to $95 for commercial packages and $115 for residential shipments.

“The steep rise in these surcharges is a direct response to the growing number of large and bulky items like furniture and sports equipment being shipped,” Partner Ship said. “Items that you never would’ve considered ordering online a decade ago, like mattresses, have become more and more common. The automated systems at FedEx and UPS use to sort and process shipments can’t handle these larger packages, so they require special handling – which is why they’re passing the buck to the shipper.”

The Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber offers enrollment in the Regional Chamber Shipping Program through Partner Ship. The program offers discounted rates for companies shipping via FedEx. More information is available here.

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.