Dive Brief:
- FedEx is adding new surcharges and tweaking some existing fees next month, the delivery giant announced Friday.
- The company is introducing an inbound processing fee on U.S. imports and a duty and tax forwarding fee. It will also apply a 40-pound minimum billable weight for packages whose dimensions require an additional handling surcharge, mirroring UPS. FedEx will also levy a delivery area surcharge on several new ZIP codes.
- The changes will take effect Jan. 13, 2025, one week after FedEx's new rate and surcharge increases are implemented. The company said the net impact to each customer depends on the particulars of their shipping agreement.
FedEx surcharge adjustments effective Jan. 13, 2025
| Fee type | Upcoming change |
|---|---|
| Additional Handling Surcharge – Dimension | All U.S. and international packages that receive this surcharge will be subject to a 40-pound minimum billable weight. |
| U.S. Inbound Processing Fee | New for 2025, this $1.50 fee will be assessed on U.S. import shipments. |
| Duty and Tax Forwarding Fee | New for 2025, this fee will apply instead of the Disbursement Fee if the shipper selects a third-party billing option in which duties and taxes are paid outside the destination country. The charge is $27 or 2% of duty, tax and merchandise processing fee charges, whichever is greater. |
| Fuel-applicable surcharges | A fuel surcharge will now be assessed on fees for Address Correction, Accessible Dangerous Goods, Inaccessible Dangerous Goods and Dry Ice. |
| Delivery Area Surcharge | FedEx is shifting some ZIP codes into different Delivery Area Surcharge categories, in addition to adding and removing applicability for several ZIP codes. |
Dive Insight:
FedEx shippers have had to keep up with frequent surcharge adjustments over the past year, including additional fees in some large cities, higher fuel surcharge calculations and increased peak season fees.
The company's tweaks often mirror rival UPS’ actions. The 40-pound minimum billable weight for packages needing additional handling due to their dimensions was first levied by UPS in October. With FedEx implementing the same change in January, bulky package shippers run the risk of further pressure to their bottom lines.
Both FedEx and UPS are relying on surcharges to improve profitability in an underwhelming demand environment, parcel pricing experts have told Supply Chain Dive. Paul Yaussy, director of parcel consulting at Shipware, said last month that this means many shippers will face 2025 price increases exceeding the upcoming 5.9% average rate hikes.
"Their 5.9% is actually a 7.1% [increase] because surcharges were going up almost 10%," Yaussy said of one Shipware client.
