2018 Carrier Rate Increases

The New Year is around the corner, and It’s the time when for most carriers including the leading US shipping carriers FedEx, UPS, USPS and DHL, their annual rate increases go into effect. The specifics for each of the carriers is outlined below.

USPS Pricing

USPS price increases go into effect in the New Year on January 21, 2018. On average, the increase will be 3.9% across all services. This affects First Class Mail packages, Priority Mail and Priority Mail Express. You can view the details of the price increase here and download the new shipping rates here.

FedEx Pricing

FedEx price increases go into effect on January 1, 2018. On average, the increase will be about 4.9% across all FedEx Ground and Express services. You can see the details of the price increases on the FedEx website at shipping-rates. The changes in their surcharges and fees can be viewed at surcharges and fees.

There will be additional changes to surcharges and fees that will go into effect on January 22, 2018 - these changes will affect Additional Handling, Oversize, Ground Unauthorized and Third Party Billing Surcharges. For FedEx Smartpost the price increases can be viewed at http://www.fedex.com/us/smartpostguide/guide.html. Another key change that goes into effect January 22, 2018 is that dimensional weight will apply to all FedEx Smartpost shipments that weigh over a pound. The dimensional weight calculation will be the same as that for FedEx Ground and FedEx Express shipments, i.e dimensional weight = L x W x H / 139.

UPS Pricing

UPS has decided not to wait for the New Year and their price increases go into effect on December 24, 2017. Their price increase is across all US Ground, Air and International Services. You can see the details on their website at shipping rates, but here are some highlights:

• The avrage price increase across US Ground, Air and Intenational shipments is 4.9%
• Large Package Surcharge will apply to any U.S. Domestic package with a length greater than 96 inches, or Length + Width greater than 130 inches.
• Packages that are less than or equal to one cubic foot in size (1,728 cubic inches) will fall under the dimensional weight calculation: L x W x H / 139

In addition to the future increases, UPS has increased several surcharges effective October 25, 2017 including Additional Handling, Address Correction, Area Surcharges, COD and Returns. For a full list of these surcharge increases, visit surcharges page om the UPS website.

DHL Express Pricing

On average the DHL Express rates will increase 4.9% effective January 1, 2018. A guide to the 2018 retail rates as well as FAQs are available at www.dhl-usa.com/rateguide. You can expect your significantly discounted DHL Express rates via OrderCup to also go up approximately the same 4.9%.

Evaluate your Shipping options

While annual carrier rate increases are more the norm rather than the exception, it is also a good time to evaluate you shipping strategy for the coming year. Compare the rates available for similar services from the different carriers, decide on whether to change the prices for your buyers, and of course look at the all the discounted shipping options available in OrderCup from the leading carriers, sometimes as much as 70% of the retail prices. Talk to us if you have any questions around your shipping strategy and our knowledgeable staff will be happy to guide you.