FedEx Continues Pandemic Surcharge Indefinitely

"New year, new you!" While many use January as a fresh start, sometimes we have trouble shaking habits from the old year. That seems to be the case for U.S. carriers too. FedEx has just released plans for continuing peak surcharges for packages shipped from within the U.S. starting Monday, January 18, 2021. The shipping carrier had previously implemented these fees from November 2, 2020 to January 17, 2021 and will now be extending the operation indefinitely. The announcement comes as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to fuel record-breaking online purchases through the holiday season.

"The impact of the virus continues to generate a surge in volume, and we are experiencing extremely high demand for capacity and increased operating costs across our network this holiday peak season. We anticipate volume to continue to surge into the new year.​" - FedEx, 12/16/20 Update.

The once temporary surcharges now have no end date in sight. Specifically, the price increase will continue to affect U.S. Express Package Services, U.S. Ground Services, and International Ground Service (Canada/Mexico). Additionally, there is a continuous surcharge on FedEx SmartPost® Package Services, which is a contract-only service. It is important to note; these shipment fees are in addition to any base fees for the selected service.

Courtesy of FedEx

Surcharge pricing is just one way that carriers worldwide have attempted to offset the increase in demand created by the current pandemic. With the continued need to hire additional employees, these fees help keep deliveries moving as smooth as possible to ensure no supply chain disruptions. FedEx is the first carrier to implement an extension of peak surcharges. With home deliveries continuing to rise throughout the U.S., will we see other carriers follow?