An Overview of 2023 FedEx & UPS General Rate Increases (GRI)
The annual General Rate Increase (GRI) from both FedEx and UPS is now upon us and affecting the costs of your daily shipments. The GRI is put in place by both carriers every year and this makes it crucial for shippers to keep a close eye on the resulting changes.
USPS also increases its rates each year and we’ll cover the impact here as well.
Here are the average price increases for each carrier starting at the beginning of 2023.
FedEx = 6.9%
UPS = 6.9%
USPS = 4.2%
These GRI amounts are more painful than usual this year. Carriers have cited all sorts of reasons for this, but suffice to say that both FedEx and UPS are passing through a lot of their growing expenses to their customers by way of the 2023 GRI.
That said, unfortunately, the “devil is in the details” and these rate increases are actually worse than they even appear. Why? Well, these amounts are average increases all service levels and shipping zones.The problem with this average is the actual increases for expedited services are less than ground service. And, if you’re like most shippers, you probably ship ground more often than expedited.
Here’s the “real” GRI breakdown with FedEx, which goes into effect January 2nd, 2023.
Ground increases are closer to 8%, especially for lower weight items
Ground residential surcharges are increasing by nearly 10%
Zones 6 – 8 (i.e. the further transit distances) are being increased more than closer zones. This enhances the need to ship from multiple warehouses in the US, if you can. This way, you only ship to shorter zones.
Additional handling, oversize, and related surcharges are increasing by upwards of approximately 20%. Ouch.
Remote surcharges are also increasing dramatically.
Here is the detailed overview of FedEx rate changes for 2023. We invite you to contact Rush Order if you need help interpreting the 2023 GRI for your specific circumstances.
Also keep in mind that, in addition to the GRI, FedEx and UPS will assess a fuel surcharge as well. This is an extra cost the carriers add to the price of your package. The amount of the surcharge changes every week, depending on how much fuel costs. You can see the current surcharges published here by FedEx and UPS.
UPS rate changes are practically identical in most instances as FedEx. Here is a link to the UPS rate changes for 2023, which go into effect December 27th, 2022.
USPS rate changes were more modest for 2023 than those with FedEx and UPS. This typically prompts questions from clients every year at this time about possibly switching their shipping volumes to USPS. Unfortunately, the difference in price increases is typically not enough to change these common rules of thumb:
Shipments under 1 pound likely benefit from shipping USPS First Class Mail Parcel
Shipments between 1 – 2 pounds may benefit from USPS Priority Mail to certain zones. Note: Domestic shipments over 1 pound are not eligible for First Class Mail.
Shipments weighing in around 2 pounds or more are likely better serviced via services like FedEx Ground, FedEx Home Delivery, FedEx Ground Economy, UPS Ground, UPS Ground Residential, and UPS SurePost.
In our upcoming posts, we’ll take a closer look at FedEx and UPS services and rates. In the meantime, While many nuances exist, the Rush Order team prepared this basic comparison guide for your US domestic shipping options. Please review and contact us if you have any questions. No obligation. We’re happy to help.