FedEx Corp. will not apply residential holiday season surcharges for most deliveries as it tries to set itself apart from the plan announced by rival United Parcel Service Inc. (UPS) earlier this year.
“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 communications. “These packages consume an inordinate amount of cubic space in FedEx Ground and FedEx Express equipment in the U.S. and Canada.”
The company said the volume of oversized packages moving through the FedEx Ground network during the holiday season has increased 240 percent over the past 10 years, and is now about 10 percent of all volume handled by FedEx Ground.
Between Nov. 20 and Dec. 24, FedEx Express and FedEx Ground in the U.S. and Canada will increase the surcharge for additional handling by $3 per package, for oversize goods by $25 per package, and for unauthorized shipments by $300 per package.
In June, UPS announced a 27-cent surcharge per package for ground service from Nov. 19-Dec. 2 and Dec. 17-23. Parcels delivered to residences, as well as large and heavy packages, will face surcharges of up to 97 cents for two-day air services to residential addresses from Dec. 17-23.
UPS has had residential shipping surcharges, but has never before tacked on holiday season fees.
“We’re focused on helping our customers achieve success during some of their most important selling seasons,” said Alan Gershenhorn, UPS chief commercial officer. “To meet their requirements, UPS flexes its delivery network to process near double our already massive regular daily volume, and that creates exceptional demands.”
In its statement announcing the holiday plan, FedEx again encouraged Congress to approve the nationwide use of twin 33-foot trailers.
“This would increase package capacity per trip, increase safety on the highways and use less fuel. Thirty-three foot twin trailers are currently permitted in only 20 states, and FedEx advocates for a nationwide standard of twin trailers at 33 feet but no increase in total weight.”
