For anyone wondering why we’re going out of business FedEx and UPS announced nearly identical 2024 rate hikes of 5.9 percent, and 2023 holiday surcharges of nearly 100 percent.
FedEx’s rate increases will take effect on January 1, 2024 while their holiday surcharges – which they call “demand” surcharges – will take effect on September 4, 2023.
FedEx states that the “price adjustments reflect incremental costs associated with the current operating environment, while enabling FedEx to continue investing in service enhancement, fleet maintenance, technology innovations, and other areas to serve customers more effectively and efficiently.”
FedEx and UPS Play Monkey See, Monkey Do
Meanwhile UPS’s rate increases will take effect on December 26, 2023 and their holiday surcharges – which thy also now refer to as “demand surcharges” – will begin on October 1, 2023 and run through January 13, 2024.
Much like FedEx, UPS says the rate and surcharge increases will “help support ongoing expansion and capability enhancements as we strive to maintain the high service levels you expect from UPS.”
UPS is also changing zones and how it will charge for “area surcharges.” The current “Additional Handling” surcharge is $3.50 per package, but it will rise to $6.90 per package during the 2023 holiday shipping season.
So Who Pays For These Rate Increases?
We all do. At every point throughout life we are all consumers, and as long as there are only two small package carriers in America we are all subject to their whims. It’s that simple. Small businesses like us get the brunt of these rate increases and we’re incapable of offsetting higher shipping costs like big box retailers can.
These annual rate increases from FedEx and UPS are among the primary reasons we can longer make money with this business. For all the talk about how much they want to help small businesses, all of it amounts to bovine feces.
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