If you are a shipper that frequently sends packages to rural and remote addresses, there is a surcharge that could significantly raise your package delivery costs. The delivery area surcharge and the extended delivery area surcharge are applied to UPS and FedEx shipments that are delivered or picked up in certain ZIP codes. Of course, we can’t fault a carrier for needing to charge extra for a shipment that is thirty minutes off the normal route but using ZIP codes to identify which areas receive a delivery area or extended area surcharge can be misleading. Unfortunately, some ZIP codes contain both urban and rural areas. Those urban addresses end up getting unfairly tagged with the delivery area surcharge.
FedEx delivery area surcharges
UPS operates in a single network, but FedEx has multiple delivery networks adding different charges depending on shipping service. The information below covers the FedEx delivery area surcharge change that took effect on Jan. 1, 2018.
U.S. express package services, FedEx Ground (residential)
$3.90 per package 2017
$4 per package 2018
U.S. express package services and U.S. ground services (extended residential)
$4.20 per package 2017
$4.40 per package 2018
U.S. express package services (commercial, extended commercial)
$2.60 per package 2017
$2.70 per package 2018
FedEx Ground (commercial, extended commercial)
$2.45 per package 2017
$2.55 per package 2018
Express Alaska package services (residential, commercial)
$24 per package 2017
$26 per package 2018
Express Hawaii package services (residential, commercial)
$7 per package 2017
$8 per package 2018
U.S. express package services, FedEx Ground (residential)
$3.90 per package 2017
$4 per package 2018
UPS delivery area surcharges
UPS Commercial Ground
$2.30 per package 2017
$2.60 per package 2018
UPS Commercial Air
$2.45 per package 2017
$2.75 per package 2018
UPS Residential Ground
$3.25 per package 2017
$3.50 per package 2018
UPS Residential Air
$3.80 per package 2017
$4.05 per package 2018
Deciphering each surcharge and checking for accuracy requires countless hours. Share a Refund offers valuable insight into your shipping data to understand how these fees are adding up. Optimizing your carrier contract with a Share a Refund industry expert is one way to reduce delivery surcharges. Contract optimization experts can identify areas where you could be saving more money. Most customers find themselves saving 10-20% more when inviting Share a Refund into the process.
