On April 11, UPS announced its weekly fuel surcharge. This week the increase was 1.5% on UPS Ground, bringing the new fuel surcharge to 16.75%, while UPS air customers saw a greater increase from 1.75% to 21.75%.

FedEx fuel surcharges kept pace with UPS, with a 17.75% fuel surcharge on domestic ground and 21.75% on air.

There is even worse news for international customers. The UPS fuel surcharge on international exports is 23.5%, while imports are higher at 27.25%. The FedEx fuel surcharge on international exports is 24.5%, while imports are at 28.25%.

Fuel prices continue to increase, triggered by the war in Ukraine, Covid lockdowns, and the upcoming summer vacation season.

This is a good time to look at your small package volumes to evaluate if consolidating shipments makes sense. Air consolidation may offer shippers tremendous savings until fuel prices stabilize.