UPS and FedEx have quietly implemented a new round of fuel surcharge increases, separate from, and in addition to, their 2025 General Rate Increases (GRIs).
FedEx changes take effect December 1, 2025.
UPS changes take effect January 5, 2026.
Most shippers will see the impact only when invoices start arriving, but by then the increases will already be baked into their transportation spend.
This article breaks down what changed, why it matters, and what logistics teams should be doing right now to prepare.
What’s Changing: Higher Fuel Index Tables at Both Carriers
This isn’t a routine weekly adjustment tied to fluctuations in diesel or jet fuel prices.
UPS and FedEx have modified the fuel surcharge index tables themselves, the formulas that convert weekly Department of Energy fuel prices into a percentage-based surcharge.
That means your fuel surcharge goes up even if fuel prices stay flat.
What the Fuel Index Changes Look Like
Here’s a side-by-side comparison of some examples showing the before and after of the ground fuel surcharge pricing changes from both FedEx and UPS:
FedEx Ground Fuel Surcharge: Before vs. After
Fuel Price (Per Gallon) | Prior to Dec 1, 2025 | After Dec 1, 2025 | Net Increase |
|---|---|---|---|
$3.55 – $3.64 | 20.00% | 21.50% | 7.5% |
$3.64 – $3.73 | 20.25% | 21.75% | 7.4% |
$3.73 – $3.82 | 20.50% | 22.00% | 7.3% |
$3.82 – $3.91 | 20.75% | 22.25% | 7.2% |
$3.91 – $4.00 | 21.00% | 22.50% | 7.1% |
$4.00 – $4.09 | 21.25% | 22.75% | 7.1% |
UPS Ground Fuel Surcharge: Before vs. After
Fuel Price (Per Gallon) | Prior to Jan 5, 2026 | After Jan 5, 2026 | Net Increase |
|---|---|---|---|
$3.55 – $3.64 | 20.00% | 21.00% | 5.0% |
$3.64 – $3.73 | 20.25% | 21.25% | 4.9% |
$3.73 – $3.82 | 20.50% | 21.50% | 4.9% |
$3.82 – $3.91 | 20.75% | 21.75% | 4.8% |
$3.91 – $4.00 | 21.00% | 22.00% | 4.8% |
$4.00 – $4.09 | 21.25% | 22.25% | 4.7% |
A Real-World Example
At a diesel price of $3.75/gal:
Before FedEx’s change: Ground Fuel Surcharge = 20.50%
After FedEx’s change: Ground Fuel Surcharge = 22%
That’s a 1.5 percentage-point jump (a 7.3% increase in the surcharge itself) for the exact same shipment with the exact same fuel price.
No operational change.
No pricing change in diesel.
Just new math.
Why This Matters: A Second, Stacked Increase on Top of the GRI
Fuel is already one of the largest and fastest-growing components of parcel spend. Because fuel surcharges are calculated as a percentage of transportation charges, they automatically go up when GRIs raise base rates.
That means two things happen:
Your base rate increases with the GRI.
Your fuel surcharge increases because it’s applied to a higher base rate.
But this year adds an additional twist:
By raising the fuel index itself, the carriers just layered a second increase on top of the GRI.
The result is a compound effect: a higher baseline fuel surcharge, plus an additional increase from the GRI.
Shippers who are preparing only for the GRI are already behind.
Why Carriers Make These Changes
Carriers typically justify fuel index adjustments as necessary to offset rising operating costs or hedge against fuel price volatility. But in recent years, carrier-imposed fuel surcharges have increasingly moved in the opposite direction of actual fuel prices — an inverse correlation that has become hard to ignore.
In other words, surcharges are rising even when fuel prices aren’t. By adjusting the index itself, carriers widen the gap between real fuel costs and what shippers ultimately pay.
These changes effectively lock in additional revenue for carriers regardless of true market conditions, turning the fuel surcharge into a structural profit lever rather than a pass-through cost.
The Financial Impact for Shippers
For high-volume parcel operations, fuel is frequently the single largest accessorial charge. Increasing the index amplifies spend across virtually all services, including:
Ground
Home delivery/residential
Air/Express
International
Because fuel applies to nearly every package, even small index adjustments can materially affect total transportation budgets.
This is especially true for companies that:
Ship primarily residential
Rely heavily on Ground Economy services
Have large-zone distribution footprints
Use air services frequently
Are already facing double-digit surcharge inflation
What Shippers Should Do Right Now
1. Quantify the Impact
Model how the new tables will affect your current shipment profile.
Look specifically at:
Fuel spend as a % of total parcel spend
Surcharges by service level
Common lanes/zones
Residential mix
Air vs ground utilization
Small differences in package characteristics can meaningfully impact fuel cost exposure.
2. Adjust Budget Forecasts
If 2025 budgets assume only the 5.9% GRI from carriers, they’re already outdated.
Fuel index changes can shift annual parcel spend far more than the headline GRI.
3. Audit Early Invoices Closely
The first invoice cycles after each carrier’s effective date will reveal:
How the new tables are being applied
Whether the carrier is using the correct fuel bands
Any discrepancies between expected vs actual % charges
4. Pressure-Test Packaging & Mode Decisions
Fuel is percentage-based, so higher charge percentages amplify inefficiencies like:
Oversized packaging
Unnecessary air usage
Poor zone distribution
Suboptimal DIM profiles
This is the time to revisit package engineering and modal mix.
5. Review Carrier Agreements
Shippers with negotiated fuel caps, discounts, or index-related concessions should confirm:
Whether caps still apply under the new tables
Whether the carrier can adjust the published index without renegotiation
Whether future index changes can be contractually limited
In many agreements, carriers retain unilateral authority to adjust the index.
How Lojistic Helps Shippers Respond
When carriers introduce new fees, adjust formulas, or re-index surcharges, the costs compound quickly…often invisibly.
Lojistic gives businesses the clarity to stay ahead of those changes:
Immediate visibility into fuel spend across carriers, services, and zones.
Automated invoice audits that flag misapplied surcharges or unexpected jumps.
Compare Mode: model what cost will look like under different surcharge tables or scenarios.
Baseline & trend reporting to show historical surcharge volatility and year-over-year changes.
Granular surcharge reporting that lets shippers break down charge drivers like base rate, fuel, accessorials, residential fees, etc.
Contract strategy tools to help assess whether current contracts (fuel caps, index-based caps, discounts) are still effective under the new surcharge tables, and identify when a renegotiation may be needed.
Having clear visibility into how carriers are billing—and how changes propagate—allows shippers to spot cost spikes early and make informed decisions about volume commitments, negotiation strategy, and carrier mix.
Shippers can connect all their carrier accounts to Lojistic and begin seeing the impact of pricing changes within minutes. Create a free account or contact us now!
Author
Jared Fisher
Jared Fisher
Co-Founder & Chief Revenue Officer
Jared Fisher is the Co-Founder and CRO at Lojistic. Since founding the company in 2005, Jared has helped build Lojistic into a leading shipping intelligence and spend management platform serving thousands of businesses globally across all industries.
Prior to Lojistic, Jared worked at Airborne Express (later DHL), where he saw firsthand how carrier pricing structures often obscure true costs and lead to overspending for shippers. That experience shaped his mission to bring greater transparency, control, and efficiency to business shippers.
With over two decades at the helm of Lojistic, Jared continues to lead the go-to-market strategy and client success, helping organizations leverage technology and data to reduce shipping costs and improve operational performance.