FedEx Announces 2019 General Rate Increase and Other Changes: Shipware's Analysis
FedEx Express and FedEx Ground, subsidiaries of FedEx Corp., will increase shipping rates effective Jan. 7, 2019 by an average of 4.9 percent, while FedEx Freight will increase by an average of 5.9 percent. The change will impact the following:
- Express package and freight standard list rates for U.S., U.S. export and U.S. import services.
- FedEx Ground and Home Delivery standard list rates.
- FedEx International Premium rates.
- Minimum rates for FedEx Express.
- FedEx Ground Multiweight rates.
- FedEx SmartPost rates.
- FedEx One Rate pricing.
- FedEx Freight rates.
- FedEx Retail rates.
In addition, there will be changes to FedEx surcharges and minimums also effective on Jan. 7. Notable of those changes for 2019 include the following:
Here are some highlights from the announcement, showing the changes to some of the more common surcharges, along with the percentage increase. As in recent years, the largest increases continued to be reserved for those surcharges related to package size and dimensions. This year we also see FedEx doubling the Print Return Label charge.
The comparison below of 2018 rates to 2019 rates shows the actual impact by service and weight break. In many cases, the actual increase is over 5 percent — even as high as 8.2 percent!
Most shippers understand by now that there's usually very little correlation between the carrier's announced average increase and the actual increase by service level, zone and weight. Additionally, shippers understand that the impact to their parcel budget can vary significantly from the announced average increase. The devil is in the details. A more thorough analysis by Shipware’s team of consultants will be forthcoming once the complete rate announcement can be digested.
Rebecca Lannon is a client solutions manager at Shipware, a San Diego-based parcel consulting, technology and spend management firm. An expert in qualitative pricing analysis, carrier contracts and revenue strategies, Rebecca leverages over 11 years of direct carrier pricing experience to help high volume parcel shippers reduce costs up to 30 percent.
Rebecca Lannon is a client solutions manager at Shipware, a San Diego-based parcel consulting, technology and spend management firm. An expert in qualitative pricing analysis, carrier contracts and revenue strategies, Rebecca leverages over 11 years of direct carrier pricing experience to help high volume parcel shippers reduce costs up to 30 percent.
