UPS, FedEx Announce Rate Changes For Peak Season & Early 2026
As the Postal Regulatory Commission approves USPS "temporary" holiday shipping increases, UPS and FedEx release announcements about Peak Season and early 2026 rate changes.
UPS
UPS Mail Innovations will institute peak season shipping fees from October 5th until January 18, 2026, according Supply Chain Dive.
Max Garland
The temporary fees include a $2 surcharge for all outbound packages that meet one of the following criteria:
- A weight of more than 10 pounds
- Destined for a Zone 9 location
- Exceed 22 inches in length and/or exceed two cubic feet
UPS Mail Innovations will also place a $0.30 per-piece surcharge on all domestic parcels that qualify for the “Parcel Select” mail class.
UPS has also released peak demand surcharges that will surge higher as we get closer to the holidays.
However, some small business shippers may receive some relief from the higher peak season rates thanks to a partnership between UPS and American Express.
Ahead of the busy holiday season, merchants can access exclusive savings from UPS via American Express’ Business Savings Suite. Savings span UPS air, ground and international shipping options and allow SMBs to save more as they ship more with UPS...
...In addition to the Business Savings Suite discounts, American Express Small Business Card Members can visit the American Express Offers page and log in to their account to view eligible Amex Offers. Additional benefits and offers will be rolled out in the coming months.
FedEx
FedEx will also be instituting similar peak surcharges that will surge closer to the holidays.
Starting January 5, 2026, Fedex will be raising rates across the board on average 5.9%.
FedEx package standard list rates for U.S., U.S. export, and U.S. import services will increase an average of 5.9%.
FedEx Ground® Economy, FedEx Ground Multiweight®, FedEx International Premium®, and FedEx International Priority DirectDistribution® rates will increase. Minimum rates for FedEx U.S. and international package services will also increase.
FedEx Logistics U.S. and Canada base customs brokerage rates will increase by 4%. This increase does not apply to any ancillary fees for customs brokerage services.
And effective January 12,2026 certain FedEx home delivery services will have surcharges applied per package instead of per shipment.
FedEx Date Certain Home Delivery®, FedEx Evening Home Delivery®, and FedEx Appointment Home Delivery® surcharges will be applied per package rather than per shipment.
There will be changes to the assessment criteria for Additional Handling Surcharge — Dimension and Oversize Charge. This change will add a cubic volume criterion to Additional Handling Surcharge — Dimension, and both a cubic volume and a weight criterion to Oversize Charge, in addition to existing criteria.
More details in the FedEx Service Guide.
These rates increase come after both UPS and FedEx recently increased international processing fees after the end of the de minimis exemption and changed how they measure for dimensional weight calculations.
Liz Morton
How will these UPS and FedEx rate increases impact your online business? Let us know in the comments below!
