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Shipping Rates Price to Increase in 2010

FedEx® recently announced their planned price increases for their shipping services for 2010. FedEx Ground rates will increase by 4.9%, while the Express rates will go up by 5.9%. The Express increase will be somewhat offset by a 2% reduction in the fuel surcharge. The changes for the international rates for FedEx have not yet been announced. The new FedEx rates become effective January 4, 2010.

UPS™ announced their 2010 rates in November. The UPS rates, which become effective on January 4, 2010, will increase on average 4.9 percent. The UPS Ground rates will increase by 4.9 percent, while the UPS Air and International rates will increase by 6.9%, with a downward adjustment of the fuel surcharge by 2%.

The United States Postal Service® (USPS®) announced their rate increases for their competitive shipping services (Express Mail, Priority Mail, Parcel Select (Destination Entry only), Parcel Return Service, Global Express Guaranteed, Express Mail International and Priority Mail International) on December 4, 2009. The USPS price increases become effective January 4, 2010. The USPS shipping prices are increasing 3.3 percent on average.

Aside from the lower price increase, the USPS shipping services do not include additional charges for fuel, residential delivery, or Saturday delivery. For these reasons, along with consistent delivery service, have driven more and more shippers to use the USPS shipping services versus UPS or FedEx.

Here are some interesting additional changes in the new 2010 USPS price structures:

  • The retail price for Priority Mail Flat Rate Envelopes actually went down from $4.95 to $4.90.
  • The Priority Mail one pound price is now zoned (previously mailpieces under 1 lb. were the same price, regardless of the zone).
  • There is a "new" half-pound price for Commercial Plus items.
  • The USPS added new Cubic Volume price tiers (5 tiers) to encourage smaller & more space-efficient packaging (encouraging eco-friendly practices). Cubic Volume is based on size rather than weight: the smaller the package, the lower the price (even if it's up to 20 lbs.). Shippers can save a lot of money using this option.
  • Customers are now eligible to use the "new" Cubic Volume Pricing if they are sending more than 250,000 packages a year or have a Customer Commitment Agreement with the USPS.