Following suit of FedEx, UPS has announced their General Rate Increase for 2020 with an effective date of December 29, 2019. The announced average increase is 4.9% for UPS Ground, UPS Air/International Services, 4.2% for UPS Air Freight and 3.9% for UPS Freight.
As in years past, UPS list rates have been consistently increasing annually for Air and Ground with shorter zones receiving smaller increases, while longer zones will be facing increases of a higher rate. The cost of a one-pound package shipped from Atlanta to Dallas using Next Day Air would increase from $27.50 in 2007 to $66.41 in 2020 (not including any surcharges), an increase of 141%!
Surcharges
- Peak Season: UPS’s peak season surcharge extends from October 1, 2019 to January 4, 2020, 14 weeks in total. The table below breaks down the peak surcharges that will increase and by how much. No additional residential surcharges will take effect for the holiday season but large packages, additional handling and over maximum limit surcharges will increase significantly.
- There is an increase across the board for most surcharges, including Additional Handling, Delivery Area, Signature services, Large Package, Residential Delivery, etc.
Other Changes
- Additional Handling: Will apply to actual weight 50 pounds or more for Ground and Air.
- Rebill Fee: $17.00 will be assessed for change on billing account for a shipment.
- Prohibited Item Fee: $150.00 applied to packages containing prohibited/restricted articles not in compliance with all UPS policies and procedures.
- Undeliverable Packages: Value-added services and other charges will apply.
- Late Payment Fee: Assessed if invoices are not paid in full by the invoice due date.
- Processing Fee: $10.00 applied to each request to file a single entry under Entry Type 86.
- Ship to UPS Access Point Location: Surcharge will be removed.
- Delivery Area: There will be about 1,200 zip codes changes to the Delivery Area Surcharge criteria. We’ve summarized these changes for you below.
Shipping FedEx? Here’s how the UPS changes stack up against its biggest competitor.
Understanding how these annual rate increases affect your shipping costs can be a complicated and time-consuming process that most companies simply don’t have the time for. But not evaluating your individual needs based on ever-changing criteria in the shipping world can have a substantial financial impact. That’s where we come in. AFS provides industry experts to minimize shipping costs and maximize efficiency by evaluating your business’s shipping requirements to ensure you’re not absorbing any unnecessary overhead. For a comprehensive review of how we can lessen the blow of the 2020 GRI, give us a call at 877-242-3383 or send us an email at [email protected].
If you’d like a full breakdown of the 2020 UPS changes, you can download it here.
