Tough Economy Prompts Shipper to Add Surcharge

A slowing U.S. industrial economy and an increasing consumer demand for low-yielding shipping solutions have squeezed profits for some shippers. To compensate for increased costs, one of the major shippers has added a surcharge to a popular shipping option.

Beginning July 15, FedEx added a $0.25 delivery area surcharge to SmartPost shipping solutions in select ZIP Codes. This surcharge is in addition to expanded surcharges that began on January 7 for other products.

While these surcharges add to the shipping costs for customers who use FedEx services, customers of USPS continue to enjoy surcharge-free deliveries.

To see if the SmartPost surcharge applies to you, click here for the list of affected ZIP Codes.

by bennyblogger on July 23, 2013 • Permalink

Posted in Competition

Tagged costs, package, shipping, surcharge

Posted by bennyblogger on July 23, 2013

https://yourpostalblog.wordpress.com/2013/07/23/tough-economy-prompts-shipper-to-add-surcharge/

Fuel for the Bottom Line

With fuel prices soaring to record highs, many shipping providers have added a fuel surcharge to the price of their services. This surcharge directly increases the costs for their customers to ship anything from socks to a flat panel television. One organization that has not passed on this increased cost to its customers is the Post Office.

Here’s an interesting list of average U.S. fuel prices for the last decade:

January 2, 2012 – $3.254
January 2, 2011 – $3.034
January 4, 2010 – $2.627
January 5, 2009 – $1.672
January 7, 2008 – $3.088
January 1, 2007 – $2.296
January 2, 2006 – $2.236
January 3, 2005 – $1.745
January 5, 2004 – $1.492
January 6, 2003 – $1.412

For more information on fuel prices, go to the U.S. Energy Administration website by clicking here.