GRI Impact: UPS Joins FedEx with a 5.9% Increase 📈 – What Does This Shift Mean for Your Bottom Line?
As we roll into another season of shipping rate hikes, the trend of higher General Rate Increases...
Understanding FedEx’s New Additional Shipping Fees in 2025–2026, and What Businesses Can Do About Them
If your business ships anything at all, especially via FedEx, the upcoming changes to their fees map out more cost than you might expect. Starting now and into early 2026, FedEx is updating their fee structure in ways that go well beyond simple base-rate increases. At ShipPlug, we believe knowing what’s changing ahead of time gives you a chance to protect your margins—without scrambling.
What’s Changing & When
Here are the key updates from FedEx’s “Additional Shipping Fees” page. FedEx
| Effective Date | What’s Changing |
|---|---|
| Jan. 12, 2026 | Home delivery surcharges for services like Date Certain, Evening Home Delivery, and Appointment Home Delivery will now be assessed per package instead of per shipment. Also: additional handling and oversize charges will get stricter—FedEx is adding cubic volume criteria (and new weight criteria for some oversize fees). FedEx |
| Jan. 5, 2026 | Updates to the set of shipping surcharges & fees that apply to many shipments. FedEx |
| Sept. 22, 2025 | Two new “Clearance Entry Fee” tiers for ground shipments Canada → U.S., plus FedEx International Connect Plus added to services assessed a U.S. Inbound Processing Fee. FedEx |
| Aug. 18, 2025 | New parcel pickup pricing structure in U.S. & Canada, rounding of every fraction of inch/centimeter up to the next full unit, an increase in Inbound Processing Fee. FedEx |
| July 14, 2025 | Lowered threshold for weight in “Additional Handling Surcharge” for international packages (from 70 lbs. to 55 lbs.), changes in Additional Handling, Oversize—and unauthorized package charges for oversize shipments or those exceeding maximum dimensions. FedEx |
What This Means for Businesses
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More surprise costs if you ship large or oddly shaped packages
The stricter volume + weight criteria mean that packages which might previously have slipped under certain fees will now trigger them. Oversize & additional handling costs will hit more often—and will hit harder. -
Packages delivered to homes just got costlier
Because surcharges like “Home Delivery Evening” etc. are now assessed per package (not per shipment), if you're shipping many packages to homes, the extra cost adds up fast. -
More power to the packing & dimension game
Shipping with bulky packaging or oversized dimensions? That’s now a more dangerous play. Dimensional rounding means anything not perfectly optimized may cost you more. -
Greater complexity in forecasting and rate behavior
Because Fees are changing at different times, and based on criteria that vary (volume, weight, dimension, delivery type), it's no longer enough to assume “my average shipping cost increases 5-6%.” The real increase depends heavily on how you ship.
How You Can Stay Ahead & Save
At ShipPlug, we help businesses avoid being blindsided by these kinds of fee changes. Here are strategies to consider:
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Audit your current shipping profile
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Optimize packaging
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Review carrier contracts & negotiate
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Diversify carriers / services
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Use technology & automation
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Update your cost forecasts & customer pricing
Why The Headline Rate Increase Tells Only Part of The Story
Lots of businesses see the published “base rate” percentage increase and think: “Oh, that’s manageable”—but what often gets overlooked are the accessorials (fees beyond simple base rate) + structural changes (like dimension or volume thresholds, per package vs per shipment fees). These are exactly what FedEx is adjusting now, and they tend to hit fast when you’re shipping many packages or those that are large / residential.
At ShipPlug, our goal isn’t just to help you see “what FedEx says.” We help you see what you’ll actually end up paying. Then we help you recover surprises, optimize for less, and make sure shipping isn’t quietly eating up your margin.
Bottom Line
FedEx’s new “Additional Shipping Fees” changes are more than just another rate hike—they represent potentially higher costs if you aren’t paying attention. But they don’t have to mean financial squeeze.
With proactive tracking, better packaging, and tools to flag / recover over-charged fees, you can protect your bottom line.
