There’s an elephant in the room, we’re all aware of it, and well…we’re pretty much all talking about it so maybe that particular colloquialism doesn’t apply here. But you know what, maybe it does?
Because this year’s UPS GRI announcement is all about the big, large, over-sized and over-weight packages. Over the course of 2018, that’s where we’re going to see the biggest impacts, on the big stuff. Dare we say the impact is going to be…huge?
Of course there are some other changes that will to affect you more than the 4.9% average rate increase. As you can see by the chart below, the rate increases across the different zones vary from 1.21% to 7.62%.
Large Domestic Packages
Effective December 24 – sorry Santa, this one’s going to apply to you too – the Large Package Surcharge will apply to US domestic packages exceeding 96 inches or a length plus girth greater than 130 inches. The dimensional weight divisor for packages less than or equal to one-cubic foot in size (1,728 cubic inches) will be 139 for all US Domestic services subject to Daily Rates or Alaska and Hawaii Rates. These criteria are new for UPS and puts them on par with FedEx
Large Residential Packages
Effective July 8, 2018, the Large Package Surcharge for any US Domestic package delivered to a residential address will get another increase of $10 to $90. The Additional Handling Surcharge for packages exceeding 70 lbs. in actual weight will increase by 75%, from $10.85 – $19.
Big Changes
The biggest change, however, comes to Over Maximum Limits/Oversize Pallet Handling with an increase of 233.33%, from $150 to $500. These are defined as packages with an actual weight of more than 150 pounds, or that exceed 108 inches in length or a total of 165 inches in length and girth combined.
The Elephant in the Room
It’s what we’ve all come to expect. Shipping gets more expensive year-over-year and it’s both responsible and necessary to address the issue with your team and leadership. Unless you have the dedicated staff that can keep auditing you freight bills and lock in beneficial carrier rates, you can benefit from a 3PL’s service offerings.
AFS has the team and software to audit your freight bills and can offer assistance in negotiating those carrier rates. 4.9% may not seem like much, but depending on what you’re shipping and how far and where it’s going, that increase may be higher. Don’t ignore the elephant in the room, address it and let us help you get it off your hands. We’re shipping experts, after all, and if anyone knows the best way to ship an elephant, it’s us.