It is reported that starting from Monday, users of UPS’s US ground transportation services will pay a fuel surcharge of 16.75%, which will apply to the base freight of each shipment and most additional services, that is, additional fees. This is an increase from last week’s 15.25%.
UPS’s air freight surcharges in the US are also increasing. On March 28, UPS announced that it would raise its surcharge level by 1.75%. As of April 4, it soared to 20%, and on Monday it reached 21.75%.
For international customers of the company traveling to and from the US, the situation is equally bad. Starting from Monday, the fuel surcharge for exported goods is 23.5%, and the fuel surcharge for imported goods is 27.25%. The newly imposed fees are 450 basis points higher than on March 28.
On March 17, FedEx raised its surcharges by 1.75%. Starting from Monday, the company will impose a surcharge of 17.75% on each US package handled by FedEx’s ground transportation department, a surcharge of 21.75% on US domestic air and ground transportation packages delivered by FedEx’s express department, and a surcharge of 24.5% on all US exports, and a surcharge of 28.25% on US imports. FedEx’s ground transportation service surcharge actually decreased by 25 basis points from the previous week’s data.
UPS and FedEx adjust their surcharges based on diesel and aviation fuel prices published by the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) every week. The price of diesel fuel on the highway is published every Monday, while the aviation fuel index can be published on different days, but updated once a week. The latest national average diesel price in the US is slightly above $5.14 per gallon, and the average price of aviation fuel is $3.81 per gallon.
Both companies link their surcharges to a series of prices set by the EIA. When the EIA diesel price rises by 12 cents, UPS adjusts its ground transportation fuel surcharge by 25 basis points. FedEx Ground, the ground transportation department of FedEx, adjusts its surcharge by 25 basis points when the EIA diesel price rises by 9 cents per gallon.