Fedex And Ups Rates Fill Your Noggin With Current Logistics News.

Apr 10

2023

FedEx Announces Consolidation: What Shippers Need to Know

Posted: Apr 10, 2023

On Wednesday, April 5th, FedEx announced that they will be consolidating all their opcos (FedEx Express, FedEx Ground, FedEx Services, etc.) under the parent’s leadership umbre...

Continue Reading

Mar 21

2023

5 Ways Business Intelligence Software Can Help Businesses Overcome Shipping Challenges

Posted: Mar 21, 2023

Are you a parcel shipper feeling overwhelmed by the shipping industry's complexities, difficult-to-work-with carriers, and the always-rising costs to ship a package? You're not alone! Businesses are often left in the crossfire of balancing rising costs and ev...

Continue Reading

Dec 05

2022

2023 UPS and FedEx Rate Increase

Posted: Dec 05, 2022

UPS and FedEx are increasing rates by 6.9% for 2023. For FedEx, this is the biggest year-over-year increase in its history! UPS hasn’t increased its rates this much in over a decade! That's why we keep ending sentences with exclamation points! Looking for the General Rate Increase Report? ...

Continue Reading

Dec 01

2022

Send Costs Packing: The Ultimate [and free] Shipping Cost Reduction Resource

Posted: Dec 01, 2022

The Send Costs Packing method outlines a number of cost savings strategies and tactics that any shipper can apply to control and reduce what they’re paying for shipping services. We’ll be rolling out this ten-part series (!) over the course of a few weeks, so be sure to check back regularly for new and updated informati...

Continue Reading

Oct 26

2022

2022 - 2023 UPS & FedEx Peak Season Surcharges

Posted: Oct 26, 2022

Every year there’s a spike in residential deliveries during the holidays. As a result, the carriers make adjustments to their networks. And to ensure they’re as profitable as ever, both UPS and FedEx implement “Peak” surcharges. That means it’s going to cost you a whole lot more to ship packages through the holidays. Even the U.S. Postal Service has announced proposed temporary "rate ...

Continue Reading

Oct 11

2022

How To Optimize Every UPS or FedEx Shipment for Delivery Speed and Cost

Posted: Oct 11, 2022

It's no secret that eCommerce businesses rely on shipping to get their products to their customers. Captain Obvious reporting for duty! And while shipping is a necessary part of doing business, it can also be a major expense. That's why it's important to optimize your shipments to ensure that you're getting the best possible value for your money. What you're paying UPS, FedEx or ANY OTHE...

Continue Reading

Jul 17

2022

How To Pay UPS and FedEx Invoices By Credit Card

Posted: Jul 17, 2022

Paying your UPS and FedEx invoices isn’t always as easy as it should be.  There's various payment methods to choose from, each with different rules that you're forced to follow. It's important to understand which payment method is the best for your business.  Because if you're not using an optimized payment method, you could be missing out on cost savings opportunities. With ...

Continue Reading

Jun 14

2022

UPS Quantum View: When You See It Keep So Much of Your Money...

Posted: Jun 14, 2022

UPS Quantum View Keeps Your Money UPS is now the world’s largest transportation company. According to this Forbes article...

Continue Reading

May 09

2022

Use Compare Mode to Know What Shipping Decisions Are Costing Or Saving You

Posted: May 09, 2022

Every year, millions of people vow to make changes that’ll improve their lives. Maybe it’s learning a new language, being better with their budget or managing their time better.  One of the most common resolutions is to lose weight and get in shape.  “I want to be a healthier version of myself by this time ne...

Continue Reading

Feb 16

2022

How do shipping and supply chain issues impact your business?

Posted: Feb 16, 2022

Supply chain issues were well documented in 2021. The most famous - and literal - example of a supply chain bottleneck was the Suez Canal blockage in March. It was the inspiration for millions of memes. Even a Wikipedia page was created in dedication to the event.  ...

Continue Reading

Dec 22

2021

UPS and FedEx Announce 5.9% General Rate Increase for 2022

Posted: Dec 22, 2021

Both UPS and FedEx are raising their rates by 5.9% for 2022. The general price increase (GPI) aka “General Rate Increase” or “GRI” is an annual carrier “tradition,” so it should come as a surprise to absolutely no one that shippers will once again be forced to adjust to even higher shipping costs. If you’re a UPS or FedEx customer, the only constant...

Continue Reading

Dec 06

2021

UPS & FedEx Take a Hardline Stance With Their Customers

Posted: Dec 06, 2021

UPS and FedEx have always been willing to meet their customers’ expectations - or at a minimum - they’ve always been willing to hear them out and address certain customer requests for discounts or better rates as a means to maintain a solid client-vendor relationship.  But the dynamic between carriers and shippers has changed drasticall...

Continue Reading

Nov 04

2021

UPS Sets Record Profits for a Year...in 9 Months

Posted: Nov 04, 2021

UPS recently announced they had their most profitable year ever - and there’s still a quarter of the year remaining! In just 9 months, “UPS has generated more operating profit than any full year in our history,” according to UPS CEO Carol Tome. Let that sink in the next time you’re paying your UPS invoices.  ...

Continue Reading

Sep 13

2021

Upcoming FedEx Surcharges: Here We Go Again (2021 Edition)

Posted: Sep 13, 2021

New FedEx surcharges are rolling out... again. First, some backstory. At the beginning of the year, FedEx announced that they were implementing peak season surcharges. And in June, they announced increases to thos...

Continue Reading

Sep 09

2021

UPS and FedEx Peak Holiday Shipping 2021

Posted: Sep 09, 2021

Shipping with UPS and FedEx continues to get more and more expensive - especially during the holidays.   Editor’s Note: We’ll continue to keep this post updated with new information as it’s released by UPS and FedEx throughout the peak holiday season. Bookmark this page and check back often to...

Continue Reading

Jun 03

2021

Lojistic Platform Tutorial Video: UPS, FedEx & DHL Cost Savings Opportunities

Posted: Jun 03, 2021

If your business is struggling to control growing shipping costs, or you’re looking for ways to reduce your UPS, FedEx and/or DHL expenses, but you don’t know where to start, use Lojistic. The Lojistic platform was developed for all ...

Continue Reading

May 26

2021

FedEx Announces A New Peak Surcharge Increase

Posted: May 26, 2021

A number of FedEx's services will be impacted by their most recent surcharge announcement. Effective June 21, 2021 – Peak Surcharges will increase and for some shippers, the increase will be stark. See below for peak surcharge increase details. ...

Continue Reading

Apr 07

2021

FedEx Reinstates Limited Money Back Guarantees for Express Services

Posted: Apr 07, 2021

FedEx announced a limited reinstatement of its Money Back Guarantee effective April 6, 2021. This comes days after UPS’s limited delivery guarantee reinstatement that went into effect April 5, 2021. The timing isn’t the only sim...

Continue Reading

Apr 07

2021

UPS Reinstates Limited Service Guarantees for Next Day Air and Worldwide Express Services

Posted: Apr 07, 2021

UPS just announced its plan for a (limited) reinstatement of service guarantees effective April 5, 2021. Although it’s a step in the right direction, don’t cheer just yet. According to the fine print, this ‘reinstatement’ is only applicable to UPS Next Day Air and UPS Worldwide Express services, and it comes with extended delivery times. UPS Service...

Continue Reading

Apr 01

2021

FedEx Rebrands SmartPost to Ground Economy

Posted: Apr 01, 2021

FedEx SmartPost has been rebranded as FedEx Ground Economy. There’s more to this rebranding effort than just a simple name change. The naming evolution also means that FedEx will no longer use the US Postal Service (USPS) to fulfill its last mile delivery volume, in most cases. By making this change, FedEx is replicating the model that UPS currently uses with its ...

Continue Reading

Mar 22

2021

Guaranteed Deliveries: How to Get Guaranteed Deliveries and Shipping Credits

Posted: Mar 22, 2021

There's been lots of conversation about guaranteed deliveries and a shipper's ability to file for credits in 2020 and this year. And if that doesn't quite make sense right now, it will. UPDATE March 29, 2021: Shippers still do not have the ability to file for refunds for late deliveries. Both UPS and FedEx have given no i...

Continue Reading

Mar 15

2021

Comparing Shipping Rates: How to Get the Best Contracts

Posted: Mar 15, 2021

Comparing shipping rates, or performing a shipping rate comparison, is essential for shippers who want to maximize their budgets. Why Comparing Shipping Rates Matters Let's say two people operate similar ...

Continue Reading

Mar 08

2021

Negotiation Tips: When Should You Renegotiate Your Shipping Contract?

Posted: Mar 08, 2021

Lots of shippers would benefit from some negotiation tips for getting better UPS and FedEx contracts. We've helped countless companies optimize contracts and negotiate better rates with UPS and FedEx. One of the m...

Continue Reading

Mar 01

2021

What We Know About FedEx Service Guarantees Now

Posted: Mar 01, 2021

The future of FedEx service guarantees and delivery policies are in flux right now. And it's important for shippers to know what's happening to leverage that information to make good business decisions. The Futur...

Continue Reading

Feb 08

2021

What Shippers Should Know About Refund Recovery

Posted: Feb 08, 2021

Refund recovery is an extremely important topic for shippers. What is Refund Recovery? Refund recovery involves reaching out to the carriers to request money back for any carrier invoice errors discovered...

Continue Reading

Feb 01

2021

What You Need To Know About The FedEx Weekend Advantage

Posted: Feb 01, 2021

FedEx has been making some significant investments into its infrastructure. Today we'll examine how those investments will (or won't) create a “FedEx weekend advantage” over the competition. What is the FedEx...

Continue Reading

Jan 25

2021

Why It's Time For Reevaluating Sourcing Options and Operations

Posted: Jan 25, 2021

Reevaluating sourcing options is an important topic today. Many shippers who have come to rely on UPS and FedEx are feeling a bit handcuffed. The carrier networks are completely overwhelmed right now because of th...

Continue Reading

Jan 18

2021

What are the Benefits of Using Regional Carriers and Couriers?

Posted: Jan 18, 2021

Many shippers think that they have to rely on one or both of the big two carriers, UPS or FedEx, but there are other regional carriers and courier options available. Benefits of Contracting with Regional Carriers...

Continue Reading

Dec 28

2020

Should You Commit To An Agreement with Early Term Language?

Posted: Dec 28, 2020

It’s important for shippers to understand early term language and how it works in our industry. What is Early Term Language? Early term language is a contractual language that the carriers include in th...

Continue Reading

Dec 17

2020

Controlling Shipping Expenses in a Carrier’s Market

Posted: Dec 17, 2020

If your business relies on UPS & FedEx, chances are your ‘spidey’ senses are tingling. With demand (packages needing to be shipped) far exceeding supply (UPS’s and FedEx’s ability to deliver packages while honoring service guarantees), limited options, and a lack of competition, the small parcel industry is in the throes of a carrier’s market. With ...

Continue Reading

Nov 29

2020

Everything You Need to Know About the 2021 FedEx Price Increase

Posted: Nov 29, 2020

Have you heard about the FedEx price increase for 2021? On September 14th, 2020, FedEx announced their annual rate increase. As usual, it goes into effect the first week of the New Year. In this case, that’s January 4th, 2021. ...

Continue Reading

Oct 01

2020

Prime Day 2020: How Will It Impact Your Shipping Network?

Posted: Oct 01, 2020

Amazon recently announced that Prime Day 2020 will be Prime Day(s)…as in plural. Set an alert and mark your calendar because Prime Day 2020 is Tuesday, October 13 AND Wednesday, October 14. The annual shopping holiday will grow from a one-day event to a two-day spending spree for millions of global deal seekers. ...

Continue Reading

Aug 18

2020

UPS and FedEx Announce New Surcharges

Posted: Aug 18, 2020

FedEx and UPS both recently announced new surcharges. Depending on your shipping profile, these new surcharges may impact your business. FedEx has continued the trend of applying surcharges to all International Services originating in Asia. UPS announced several new seasonal surcharges applicable to all Air Residential, Ground Residential and SurePost packages for all U.S. Origins and de...

Continue Reading

Aug 13

2020

Top Misconceptions Keeping Shippers from a Best-In-Class Carrier Agreement

Posted: Aug 13, 2020

Today we’re discussing some of the top misconceptions keeping shippers from a best-in-class carrier agreement. Let’s start by defining what a best-in-class carrier agreement is. What is a Best-in-C...

Continue Reading

Jul 23

2020

Is The "Annual" Rate Increase A Thing Of The Past?

Posted: Jul 23, 2020

Publisher's Note: This post has been updated with new links and content. Original Publication Date: December 10, 2015 Today we’re going to take a look at the details of annual rate increases. Let’s begin with how rate increases are typically rolled out. ...

Continue Reading

Jul 02

2020

How To Become a FedEx & UPS Power User

Posted: Jul 02, 2020

Publisher's Note: This post has been updated with new links and content. Original Publication Date: May 1, 2017 In this post, we’ll help you understand how to become a FedEx and UPS power user. Let's start at the beginning with what FedEx and UPS power users are. ...

Continue Reading

Jun 25

2020

UPS Drops Bomb on Drop Shippers

Posted: Jun 25, 2020

Editor's Note: This post has been updated with new links and content. Original Publication Date: October 26, 2015 This post will explain a fee that UPS and FedEx rolled out a few years ago. As a matter of fact, what they really did was drop a bomb on drop shippers. But before we get into what that is, let’s discuss the three bi...

Continue Reading

Mar 25

2020

UPS & FedEx Suspends Service Guarantees Amid Global Pandemic

Posted: Mar 25, 2020

The global novel coronavirus pandemic has created great uncertainty all over the world. The disruptions to travel and commerce has led UPS and FedEx to suspend all service guarantees for Express, Ground and Freight for both Domestic and International shipments immediately and until further notice. This means that UPS and FedEx will no longer honor their promise to give you a refund when your s...

Continue Reading

Dec 30

2019

UPS and FedEx 2020 Rate Increases: Let's Look at the Damage

Posted: Dec 30, 2019

UPS and FedEx 2020 rate increases were recently announced. And as in years prior, it's an average 4.9% rate increase across the board. That's for the service level rates themselves. If you look at the UPS and FedEx 2020 rate increases, however, you'll see a different impact that you may not be so happy about. Most surcharges have gone up about 3 1/2 to 4%. But some of them, includ...

Continue Reading

Dec 09

2019

2019 Holiday Shipping Guide

Posted: Dec 09, 2019

Peak shipping season is here and to ensure your packages are delivered in time for the Holidays, download our Holiday Shipping Deadline Calendar below. In addition, please be aware of this year’s Peak Season surcharges. On October 1, 2019, UPS implemented the following Peak Season surcharges: Peak Season Large Package Surcharge* = Additional $31.45 per package Peak...

Continue Reading

Dec 02

2019

2020 UPS & FedEx Rate Increase

Posted: Dec 02, 2019

It's that time of year once again. UPS & FedEx are dishing out another costly general price increase to small parcel shippers effective December 29, 2019 for UPS and January 6, 2020 for FedEx. It is important to understand that the announced UPS & FedEx rate increases are only averages and the impact on your company could vary greatly. Over the past decade (2010-2020), UPS and Fed...

Continue Reading

Jul 25

2019

How To Make The FedEx Dimensional Weight The Most Cost Effective

Posted: Jul 25, 2019

The FedEx Dimensional Weight Explained The FedEx dimensional weight can cause a lot of problems for customers. As a company that processes a tremendous amount of shipping data, we see a lot of issues with this. One of the common issues we see is being billed at dimensional weight versus actual weight. So what does that even mean? To be able to understand how carrier pricing work...

Continue Reading

Jul 18

2019

Find Out How To Get The Best Negotiated Rates Possible This Year

Posted: Jul 18, 2019

Negotiated Rates Affect Your Business Negotiated rates with UPS and FedEx could help your business and I am here to explain why that is. What I'm answering is the question of, what is a negotiated rate with UPS and FedEx? Inconsistent pricing from FedEx and UPS is something many companies are dealing ...

Continue Reading

Jul 03

2019

FedEx Waivers Exposed By Fooled Customers This Year

Posted: Jul 03, 2019

FedEx Waivers Cause The Company To Lose Customers FedEx waivers are something that people often overlook and can cause you to lose money. For those of you shipping with FedEx, I want to inform you of a recent contractual trend that's on the rise. It jeopardizes your right to late delivery refunds...

Continue Reading

Jun 13

2019

FedEx and UPS Carrier Exceptions: This is the Way to Save Money

Posted: Jun 13, 2019

FedEx and UPS Carrier Exceptions Can Save You Money Alright, today we'll be talking about the different carrier exceptions. In particular, I'm going over carrier exceptions for both FedEx and UPS. They're very similar so I'll kind of go over them all in the same bucket. First, we'll talk about pick up exceptions. Sometimes no packages were picked up and pick up is not rescheduled. They...

Continue Reading

May 30

2019

UPS and FedEx Billing: Improved Discounts is the Breakthrough You Need

Posted: May 30, 2019

UPS and FedEx Billing Insights from the Pros Hey, guys, Rich with Lojistic here. I'm here to talk about UPS and FedEx billing with any of you that are still on paper invoices. Federal Express and UPS both offer online services. This will allow you to build in so...

Continue Reading

May 02

2019

Lowering UPS Shipping Rates: Awesome Tips That Will Make You Save Money

Posted: May 02, 2019

Lowering UPS Shipping Rates: First Steps The best way for lowering UPS shipping rates is to get detailed reports on your current shipping. This should include all the relevant characteristics. It should be things like your average cost is by service level and your average discounts. Take a look at those, especially if your last negotiated contract was about six to nine months ag...

Continue Reading

Apr 25

2019

UPS Shipping Rates Plummet Thanks to Expert Advice

Posted: Apr 25, 2019

UPS Shipping Rates Versus FedEx UPS shipping rates are similar when you compare them to FedEx shipping rates. There aren't any certain rates that are different between UPS and FedEx. This is unless you are looking at some of the surcharges. UPS and FedEx ...

Continue Reading

Apr 23

2019

FedEx Shipping Rates That Will Make Your Head Explode

Posted: Apr 23, 2019

FedEx Shipping Rates: Important Tips to Keep in Mind There aren't unique shipping charges or surcharges in FedEx shipping rates compared to UPS. They actually both have very similar charges and surcharges. The main thing that you want to take into account are the differences in those charges. UPS might call somethi...

Continue Reading

Apr 18

2019

Lowering FedEx Shipping Rates: Had Enough of High Charges?

Posted: Apr 18, 2019

Lowering Shipping Rates: Some Basics to Remember Here are some things to keep in mind about lowering FedEx shipping rates. The clearest, easiest way is to renegotiate the contract. So, to do to lower your FedEx rates is to take account the timeframe in which you last negotiated your contract. As long as it's within a si...

Continue Reading

Apr 02

2019

Freight Bill Audit: Tested as the Sure Fire Way to Success

Posted: Apr 02, 2019

Freight Bill Audit Benefits There is a primary benefit of using a freight bill audit. That is to understand exactly where you are spending your money. Your more reputable auditors will offer GL coding as well. So within your accounting, you can make sure that you divi...

Continue Reading

Mar 12

2019

FedEx Insight Will Make You Lose Money in Comparison

Posted: Mar 12, 2019

FedEx InSight: Why They Made It Hey guys. So as you can imagine, FedEx looks down on the parcel auditing industry. Now, why might that be? Well, auditing services like what Lojistic provides put money back in the shipper's pocket. FedEx Insight would otherwise allow FedEx to keep this money. So, as you can imagine, FedEx does everything that they can to deal with this. They co...

Continue Reading

Mar 07

2019

FedEx Contracts: Changes You Need to Know

Posted: Mar 07, 2019

FedEx Contracts Have Changed FedEx contracts have changed like UPS. In fact, FedEx calls it over-max fee while UPS calls it unauthorized charge fee. It's the same thing. It's for packages that are heavy and lar...

Continue Reading

Feb 26

2019

FedEx Service Guarantee Revisited: A Wealth of Refunds

Posted: Feb 26, 2019

FedEx Service Guarantee Basics FedEx service guarantee agreements work similarly to those from UPS. They actually call their FedEx service guarantee clause, "The Money Back...

Continue Reading

Feb 21

2019

UPS Contracts: Latest Important Updates Noted for 2019

Posted: Feb 21, 2019

UPS Contracts: Changes to Know UPS contracts changed in 2019. I would say some of the most notable impacts have been in some of the surcharges. So, in 2018, UPS took a massive increase in their over-max fee. That's when you're shipping very large packages, whether it be long or heavy. That fee went from $300 to $650 by the end of the year. This year that fee is still in effect. This is...

Continue Reading

Feb 19

2019

Rate Negotiation Helps Compare and Bargain for Best Prices

Posted: Feb 19, 2019

Rate Negotiation Considerations Rate negotiation is an important thing for customers to understand. Customers ask, "What's the difference between the different types of negotiations?" And there is one specific term that we like to use sometimes and that's a rate ...

Continue Reading

Jan 23

2019

FedEx Delivers An Empty Guarantee and Its Brilliant!

Posted: Jan 23, 2019

FedEx business customers spending around $60,000 or more annually can expect to see a waiver of their “Money Back Guarantee” in their next FedEx Agreement revision, assuming a waiver isn’t already there.  A waiver of the FedEx Money Back Guarantee eliminates a customer’s right to a refund when FedEx fails to meet their time in transit commitment (aka guar...

Continue Reading

Jan 17

2019

Shipping Costs: The Good, The Bad, and The Best

Posted: Jan 17, 2019

In a global economy you have internal/external pressures to maintain high levels of performance at the same time managing the costs between customers and carriers. The challenge is managing your parcel shipping costs while continuing to reflect the capabilities that makes your company truly unique and drive its value. These capabilities stand out as true different...

Continue Reading

Jan 10

2019

Five Tips for Negotiating Anything From Cars to Parcel Carrier Contracts

Posted: Jan 10, 2019

These five rules apply to everything from negotiating the price you’ll pay for your next car to getting a better deal on the donuts you’re bringing into the office on Friday.  When applied to negotiating your parcel carrier contracts however, following these rules may save you enough to buy a fleet of cars, or enough donuts for your whole office building....

Continue Reading

Jan 08

2019

The Art and Science of Negotiating a “Best in Class” Carrier Agreement

Posted: Jan 08, 2019

“I’m a really bad negotiator”, said no one ever.  Especially in logistics. Case in point, I was on a sales call last week and the gentleman responsible for negotiating the existing UPS and FedEx contracts for his company was VERY confident in his shrewd negotiation skills.  “My new parcel rates are amazing. I just negotiated a 9% savings with my incumben...

Continue Reading

Dec 04

2018

2018 Holiday Shipping Guide

Posted: Dec 04, 2018

It's that time of the year again! Gather ye e-commerce retailers and all happy package senders...For the holiday shipping season is upon us. But to get those presents or boxes of coal to all the little boys and girls on time, we have to ship them by these deadlines! Also, we have to be mindful that service level guarantees will be suspended according to the schedule below. UPS...

Continue Reading

Jul 03

2018

How to Hire a Parcel Audit Company: Top Questions to Ask

Posted: Jul 03, 2018

Let's start right at the beginning. Most people don’t know what a parcel audit is. A parcel audit is the task of going through each and every shipping invoice to look at carrier service errors you can be refunded for. The process is extremely tedious and time consuming. This is where 3rd party parcel audi...

Continue Reading

Jul 03

2018

Top 4 Reasons To Use A Parcel Audit Company

Posted: Jul 03, 2018

You have the achy feeling that somehow, someway, your parcel shipping is draining your company of valuable revenue. Every month you see profits melt away with ever increasing shipping invoice bills that you have no idea if they are correct or just plain filled with mistakes and lost saving opportunities. What are you missing in terms of savings and knowledge abou...

Continue Reading

Jun 21

2017

UPS Peak Surcharges

Posted: Jun 21, 2017

UPS Peak Surcharges Arrives in the Parcel World *Updated with SurePost Peak Surcharge After experimenting on several high-volume peak shippers last year, UPS announced on Monday that it is implementing Peak Surcharges on select packages tendered bet...

Continue Reading

Jun 13

2017

Parcel Forum 2017 Conference Line-Up Announced

Posted: Jun 13, 2017

Parcel Forum 2017 has just announced their conference line-up. Our very own parcel analytics gurus Bryan Van Suchtelen and James Matthews will be proudly representing Lojistic at the Forum this year. ...

Continue Reading

Nov 07

2016

How To Estimate Your 2017 UPS & FedEx Rate Increase

Posted: Nov 07, 2016

The 2017 UPS and FedEx rate increase announcement is now behind us. But are you aware of how big the impact may be to your company’s bottom line? It can be super challenging to quantify how the rate increases will affect your business, and even more difficult to visualize those changes when drilled down into each and every service level your business utilizes. Unfortunately, not a ton ...

Continue Reading

Sep 22

2016

The Final (DIM) Countdown (194…166…139…???)

Posted: Sep 22, 2016

During a discussion about the various iterations of dimensional weight in our presentation at the 2016 Parcel Forum in Dallas, I made the (ahem… dare I say ‘bold’) prediction that at some point the carriers will align the domestic and international dim divisors rather than having unique divisors for each. Little did I know that just one week later, FedEx would proclaim that very change in...

Continue Reading

Sep 02

2016

UPS Has Announced Their 2017 Rates

Posted: Sep 02, 2016

A detailed analysis of the rate increases from our experts will be coming next week. In the meantime, check out the news straight from rates.ups.com: Effective December 26, 2016*, the published rates for our services will increase. This supports the ongoing investments we continue to make in the speed, scope and coverage of our transportation network. While we continuously search out opp...

Continue Reading

May 17

2016

(April) Fool Me Once, Shame On You

Posted: May 17, 2016

You know that it’s coming. It happens every year without fail. No, I’m not talking about parcel rate increases (not this time, at least). Nope, this time I’m talking about April Fools’ Day. Maybe it’s just me (though I suspect not), but I am keenly aware of and anticipate April Fools’ Day. I expect to be pranked. My spider senses are on unusually high-alert, yet every year ...

Continue Reading

May 11

2016

Service Level Optimization - Getting the Best Bang for Your Buck

Posted: May 11, 2016

Not many shippers know that almost all UPS and FedEx service levels have time in-transit delivery guarantees. Crazy, right? Even ground services have a guarantee to be delivered within a certain time frame.  If a shipment is even one minute late, you are most likely entitled to a refund. While a parcel audit will find an...

Continue Reading

May 02

2016

A Decade Of Parcel Rate Increases

Posted: May 02, 2016

Carrier shipping rates have been on the rise for years. Quickly compare their increase to common household goods with our super helpful infographic. ...

Continue Reading

Mar 03

2016

The Ups and Downs of Carrier Fuel Surcharges

Posted: Mar 03, 2016

Changes are afoot once again with the FedEx and UPS fuel surcharges. On March 7th, the FedEx fuel surcharge for Air and International will be 0% (yes, you read that right!) and Ground will decrease from 3.75% to 3.25%. On that same day, the UPS fuel surcharge for Air and International will go from 3.0...

Continue Reading

Jan 14

2016

Will The Carriers Pass On Savings From Today's Low Oil Prices? Probably Not, And Here's Why.

Posted: Jan 14, 2016

It’s a bummer that by now we’re all used to near-constant price increases from FedEx and UPS. Just last February, UPS announced it would be increasing their fuel surcharge indices, despite a barrel of crude oil being at a near 10-year low. Well, as of today, a barrel of US crude oil has hit a 12-year low, briefly tra...

Continue Reading

Jan 04

2016

The 2016 UPS & FedEx GRI is Live!

Posted: Jan 04, 2016

The 2016 Fedex and UPS General Rate Increases are now in effect, and we’ve updated our GRI Whitepaper to reflect the changes to come. Need a quick refresher? We’ve got you covered. On Wednesday, September 16, FedEx announced its annual general rate increase (GRI). Effective January 4, 2016, rates will be impac...

Continue Reading

Dec 16

2015

Why Delivery Guarantees, Not Service Levels, Matter Most

Posted: Dec 16, 2015

When booking a shipment, it makes sense to assume that two-day air would be the best choice to get a package where you need it in two days. And the carriers are probably happy that overnight air would be your first choice! But, depending on what zone you’re shipping to/from, other, cheaper options may be available to get your shipment where you need it, when you ne...

Continue Reading

Mar 31

2015

FedEx Announces 8.3% SmartPost Rate Increase

Posted: Mar 31, 2015

Update: The USPS has postponed its rate increase that was scheduled for 4/26/2015, and FedEx has followed suit.  FedEx has just announced the second SmartPost rate increase of 2015. Effective April 27, SmartPost rates will increase by 8.3%. The increase was brought about by a recent postage increase announcement by USPS. Shippers who have negotiated a general rate incre...

Continue Reading

Oct 27

2014

2015 FedEx & UPS Rate Increases Announced

Posted: Oct 27, 2014

In the wake of the dimensional weight announcements earlier this year, both carriers have recently announced their General Rate Increases for 2015.  The high level changes are as follows:   FedEx - Effective January 5, 2015 Express (package and freight) standard list rates will ...

Continue Reading

Jun 25

2014

UPS Announces 2015 DIM Price Increase

Posted: Jun 25, 2014

Six weeks ago FedEx announced what will likely be the single largest rate increase on record for many shippers.  As predicted, UPS announced that they are following FedEx’s lead.  Effective Monday, December 29, 2014, UPS will impose dimensional weight (DIM) pricing on all Ground packages. To varying degrees, this change w...

Continue Reading

Jan 31

2013

Why Is It Important to Compare Shipping Options?

Posted: Jan 31, 2013

Shipping comparison is one of the most important ways that you can save money on your logistics needs, but that does not mean it is easy to do an enterprise-wide shipping cost comparison. When you compare shipping costs, it is important to be methodical and ensure that you are taking all the pertinent factors into account. That being the case, you might wonder if the investment of time and effo...

Continue Reading

Oct 10

2012

Mobile Apps to Ease Shipping Troubles

Posted: Oct 10, 2012

Shipping solutions can sometimes feel like more trouble than they’re worth. We know it, and so do you; but this doesn’t have to be the case for the upstart or the entrepreneur. Since the world has grown into an increasingly digital marketplace, more and more solutions to shipping woes are emerging. The legacy ...

Continue Reading

Oct 03

2012

How to Reduce Shipping Costs without Skimping on Customer Service

Posted: Oct 03, 2012

Many businesses are hesitant to complain to the shipping giants responsible for getting their customers’ orders delivered to them on time. They may be aware of the fact that auditing their invoices for mistakes or attempting to renegotiate their carrier contract may save them s...

Continue Reading

Jun 25

2012

How to Prepare for the FedEx Mid-Year Rate Increase

Posted: Jun 25, 2012

If you haven’t heard yet, FedEx announced a mid-year rate increase by 6.9% on July 9th, 2012.  This rate increase is not uncommon, happening already at the beginning of the year with rate increases from both major carriers.  However, the question that is sure to appear on many people’s mind is how this rate increase will affect their business.  In past years, these rate increases heavily...

Continue Reading

Dec 09

2011

2012 UPS and FedEx Rate Increase Analysis

Posted: Dec 09, 2011

UPS and FedEx announced their January 2012 general price increases (GPI). Why is this important? For any company that ships parcels, the GPI will affect your overall shipping costs! As the 2011 GPI showed, there can be substantial impacts on shipping costs resulting from changes to accessorial charges and dimensional weight formulas. The 2012 increases are only announced as averages and can ...

Continue Reading

Aug 22

2011

FedEx and UPS Discounts: Audit to Save on Freight and Parcel Costs

Posted: Aug 22, 2011

In the current, uncertain economic environment, when fuel costs are constantly fluctuating, corporations can overspend thousands of dollars with national carriers like UPS and FedEx. Many executives are unaware that they can achieve substantial costs savings simply by monitoring and challenging UPS and FedEx on-time delivery guarantees and taking advantage of FedEx and UPS discounts. An...

Continue Reading

Aug 12

2011

UPS and FedEx Rates Comparison

Posted: Aug 12, 2011

In the world of small parcel shipping there are largely only two service providers in the United States, UPS and FedEx. Many businesses feel strongly (often based on a prior negative experience) that the service of one carrier is far superior to the other. On the other hand, there do remain some businesses that are relatively neutral in the consideration of a UPS and FedEx service comparison....

Continue Reading

Aug 07

2011

UPS and FedEx Rates Increase Analysis

Posted: Aug 07, 2011

Every year, UPS and FedEx announce their respective general price increases (GPI). Shippers, both large and small, scramble to determine the effective impact on their shipping costs. Since the announced increases are only averages, the true impact for any given business can vary greatly. In January 2011, the carrier’s GPI had a very substantial impact on accessorial charges, such as:...

Continue Reading

Jul 23

2011

Dimensional Weight Mistakes Result in Overpayment to Shipping Carrier

Posted: Jul 23, 2011

Editors note: This post was originally published July 23, 2011 and most recently updated August 2020. Dimensional weight (DIM) is a volumetric standard that is calculated by multiplying the length by width by height of a package and then dividing by a factor/divisor. Via dimensional weight charges, carriers like UPS and FedEx have the ability to rate lo...

Continue Reading

Jul 18

2011

Getting Discounts on UPS and FedEx Accessorial Fees

Posted: Jul 18, 2011

Accessorial charges that are assessed while a shipment is in-transit or upon its delivery can present an important cost management issue for businesses. Since many companies charge their customer for shipping when an order is placed, it is problematic when the actual shipping charges exceed expectations due to accessorial fees. With shipping costs that exceed the associated revenue collected fr...

Continue Reading

Jun 28

2011

Comparing UPS and FedEx in the Global Economy

Posted: Jun 28, 2011

UPS and FedEx are among the world’s largest small-package carriers, both by revenue and volume. When you compare UPS and FedEx, both offer ground, air, and ocean freight shipping and shipping-related services. FedEx and UPS ship over 10 million packages daily for businesses and individual customers worldwide. A consideration of ...

Continue Reading

May 24

2011

FedEx and UPS Discounts: Small Parcel Weight and Zone Incentives

Posted: May 24, 2011

Every January UPS and FedEx tariff rates change. When comparing FedEx vs UPS rates, one has to consider contracted incentives relative to the carrier’s annual price increase. Your contract incentives will more than likely carry over from one year to the next; however, the incentives will now be ap...

Continue Reading

May 09

2011

UPS and FedEx Discounts: Revenue Based Incentives

Posted: May 09, 2011

You'll find revenue-based incentives in most small parcel shipping contracts. UPS uses the term Portfolio Tier Incentives. FedEx refers to them as Earned FedEx Discounts. Basically, they amount to nothing more than a quantity or volume discount. Some shippers don't like revenue-based incentives; yet, managed properly, they can be fairly advantageous. Carriers like them because in decades...

Continue Reading

May 04

2011

Using Freight Auditing Companies to Unravel Parcel Shipping Contract Complexities

Posted: May 04, 2011

Parcel shipping contracts are becoming increasingly complex. Many of these contacts are written to confuse shippers and protect the carrier. The wording, created by lawyers, is designed to obfuscate the reader to the point where they simply give up, trust the oral explanation and the promised impact of any proposed freight discounts. It's no wonder so many shippers have engaged freight auditing...

Continue Reading

Apr 13

2011

UPS and FedEx Fuel Surcharge Rate History

Posted: Apr 13, 2011

UPS Fuel Surcharge History and FedEx Fuel Surcharge History are linked. That's because both carriers have been playing a game of cat and mouse for a long, long time. Unfortunately for UPS and FedEx customers, that typically means when one carrier raises their rates, or increases a surcharge, the other does the same. How Often Do UPS and FedEx Change Their Fuel Surcharge? ...

Continue Reading

Mar 28

2011

Address Correction Charges Can Add Up Fast

Posted: Mar 28, 2011

To reduce shipping costs, you need to be mindful of address correction charges. These bill-backs can quickly add tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars annually to your freight cost. Major carriers like UPS or FedEx will impose address correction charges for incorrectly-formatted or improperly addressed mail and packages. This...

Continue Reading

Mar 25

2011

Economic Slump and Higher Shipping Costs

Posted: Mar 25, 2011

Shipping companies like UPS and FedEx are caught between a "rock and a hard place."  The rock is ever-rising fuel prices, which some economists say will top $4 per gallon for diesel and gas.  The "hard place" is eating that cost or passing it on to clients and customers who are themselves fighting a prolonged recession. Sure, UPS and FedEx can add surcharges to cover fuel costs--but their cus...

Continue Reading

Mar 14

2011

UPS vs FedEx: Rates

Posted: Mar 14, 2011

These days, cheap shipping rates are scarcer than feathers in a cuckoo clock. Recent changes to both FedEx rates and UPS rates were bitter to swallow. Both companies announced increases to small package shipping rates that began with the New Year. Adding salt to the wound was a key change in how both FedEx and UPS now calculate ...

Continue Reading

Mar 12

2011

Carrier Discounts vs. Rising Shipping Costs

Posted: Mar 12, 2011

Shipping costs are headed higher than a New York City skyscraper. No thanks to the high price of energy, which contributes to rising transportation costs.  Record high oil prices have offset decades of trade liberalization efforts. When you consider the rising cost of shipping raw materials and finished goods, distance to market and ...

Continue Reading