Appoaching the Christmas holiday season, FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) has announced it will not apply residential holiday season surcharges on regular sized shipments.
Big Changes in FedEx Holiday Surcharges in 2017
“To support our millions of loyal small business customers and consumers shipping holiday gifts at FedEx Office and FedEx Onsite locations, FedEx will not apply holiday season surcharges except for packages that are oversized, unauthorized or require additional handling,” said Patrick Fitzgerald, senior vice president of Integrated Marketing and Communications at FedEx, in a press release.
If you ship packages requiring additional handling, however, be prepared to face an increase to some surcharges for FedEx Express and FedEx Ground shipments during the holiday shipping season. The same will be the case with oversized or unauthorized packages — as Fitzpatrick explained. These surcharges include a $3 per package increase for additional handling, $300 per package increase for ground unauthorized packages and $25 per package increase for oversize packages.
“These packages consume an inordinate amount of cubic space in FedEx Ground and FedEx Express equipment in the U.S. and Canada,” Fitzgerald added.
The surcharge increases will take effect November 20 to December 24, 2017 but will apply only for packages fitting into the special categories specifically mentioned in the company’s release.
UPS Adding Surcharges on U.S. Residential Packages
FedEx’s main rival United Parcel Service Inc. (NYSE: UPS) said in June it will levy surcharges on U.S. residential packages during the peak holiday season this year. The company also said it will marginally increase surcharges on packages that are larger, heavier, or have unconventional shapes during selected weeks in November and December 2017 as it seeks to combat spiraling costs of delivering eCommerce packages.
It would seem the move by FedEx not to levy residential holiday season surcharges on regular sized shipments is a competitive one. And small business shippers will doubtless welcome the move.
FedEx Photo via Shutterstock
Check out our Business Gift Giving Guide for more tips about holiday trends.