When it comes to leading a successful eCommerce business, it is crucial to forming strong relationships with not only reliable suppliers, manufacturers, and third party logistics (3PL) providers, but also the right shipping carrier(s). The right fit for your company is determined by several factors including the type of goods you will be shipping and their financial worth, where you will be shipping from and to, and of course the average volume and weight of your packages. Forming a partnership with a trusted and the suitable shipping carrier will further optimize your shipping strategy.

Here’s a brief summary of some important dates regarding recent changes to major shipping carrier rates and services, including peak surcharges:

UPS – December 26, 2021 3-6% increase in cost on average, but varies by weight and zone DHL Express – January 1, 2022 3-6% increase in cost on average, but varies by method, country, and weight FedEx – January 3, 2022

3-7.5% increase in cost on average, but varies by method, country, and weight USPS – January 9, 2022 3.1-7.5% increase in cost on average, but varies by weight and zone

*note: rates may vary depending on carrier and whether you partner with a 3PL provider—please check with your carrier or eCommerce fulfillment provider for more details and specific rates

What is a Shipping Carrier?

A company that you partner up with assigning it the responsibility of delivering your packages to your customers is a shipping carrier. The major shipping carriers in the US are UPS, DHL, FedEx, and USPS among others. These carriers offer inbound and outbound shipping both within the country and in several international regions. With an increasing shift of businesses towards e-commerce logistics, the need for shipping carriers has grown. The efficient and timely delivery of products is entirely dependent on them, and it is crucial in breaking or making a business.

The two major types of shipping carriers are long-range carriers and regional carriers:

• The long-range carriers offer door-to-door delivery services, so you can partner up with these for order shipments to anywhere within the US, as well as to deliver beyond borders.
• Regional carriers only cover specific regions. While they offer shipping services in limited areas, their rates are better for those areas.

The New Year brings with its revisions and updates in various costs, and shipping carrier charges are no different. Each year the above-mentioned big names in the shipping industry, increase and implement new rates across many service offerings. This article is your guide regarding the changes in shipping carrier rates in 2022.

2022 Rate Changes for Major US Shipping Carriers

UPS

Updated Rates Effective December 26, 2021

Daily Rates If your business has a scheduled UPS pickup or a UPS contract providing daily charges, you will be subject to the Daily Rate.

Learn more about daily rates here.

Retail Rates If your business only requires making infrequent shipments, so you haven’t opted for a scheduled UPS pickup service nor do you own a payment account, then your order shipments will be subject to Retail Rates.

Learn more about retail rates here.

Flat Rate Shipping

This option allows you to use your own packing, choose your own delivery speed out of the 5 available options and avail a flat shipping rate. This is only applicable for shipments within the US.

The average increase in shipping rates across all UPS services this year is approximately 5.9%. The highlights of this annual revision are:

• Changes have been made in zip codes included in Delivery Area Surcharge and Extended Delivery Area Surcharge. UPS has published a guide to enable customers in tracking these changes.
• Remote Area Surcharge worth $12.00 has been added in conjunction with the Delivery Area Surcharge and the Extended Delivery Area Surcharge for approximately 2700 zip codes.
• Additional Handling and Oversize packages will now increase and be continued as tiered pricing.

Click here to read the complete breakdown based on different shipping zones or read the complete announcement here.

DHL Express

Updated Rates Effective January 1, 2022

The highlights of the updated rates are:

• The average increase in shipping rate for general shipments for all US account holders is 5.9%.
• Certain optional services and surcharges will undergo an increase in rates too.
• The price adjustments will vary among different countries based on their local conditions.

Read the complete announcement here.

FedEx

Updated Rates Effective January 3, 2022

The highlights of the updated rates are:

• There will be changes to shipping surcharges.
• Changes will be made to the Delivery Area Surcharge ZIP code lists for FedEx Express and FedEx Ground.
• For 2-5 lbs parcels, average rates for ground services will increase to ~7.5%.
• Additional Handling and Oversize packages will move to tiered pricing effective January 24, 2022
• $0.60 per package surcharge will apply to residential Ground and Express packages based on volume criteria.
• $1.00 per package peak surcharge will apply to all Ground Economy packages, with no volume criteria.

Read the complete announcement here.

USPS

Updated Rates Effective January 9, 2022

The average annual increase in shipping rate applied across all USPS services is between 3.1% – 7.5%. The highlights of the announcement are:

• Rates on 1-5 lbs packages will increase at an average of 5.5%.
• Rates on 26-70 lbs packages will have an average increase of 11.1%.
• While 11-25 lbs packages will have an average decrease of 16.1%.
• Introduction of additional fees to packages exceeding certain thresholds implied on dimensions.
• An additional $1.50 will apply on packages that exceed 22” in length or 1 cubic foot.
• Additional rates between $4.00 – $15.00 will apply to packages that exceed 22” in length or 2 cubic feet.
• Introduction of two new retail mail products:
• Plus One – introduced for businesses to reach their local customers via mail.
• Connect Local Mail – introduced for enabling same-day or next-day local deliveries of documents.

Read the complete announcement here.

While making the decision of working with your current shipping carrier partner or switching to another one, although it is best to compare pricing for services, do keep other factors such as quality of service, timely shipping, and reliability in consideration.

At ShipBots, our carrier rates may vary and differ from the ones above. We partner with these carriers to try to get you the best rates. Get in touch with us l today to see what our 2022 shipping rates are.