OnTrac has published its demand surcharges for the 2026–27 peak season, which runs from Sept. 26, 2026 through Jan. 15, 2027. These are per-package fees the carrier applies during the holiday period, layered on top of your base rates and separate from the base rate changes OnTrac makes each January. This year, two of the four charge lines held flat, while the two tied to bulky and oversized parcels increased again.
Demand Residential stayed at $1 per package, and Demand Additional Handling stayed at $11 per package, both unchanged from the prior peak season. That is a notable pause after last year, when residential climbed 33.3 percent, and additional handling climbed 41.9 percent. At those levels, both charges already run close to FedEx and UPS peak pricing, and raising them further would narrow the cost advantage that draws volume to OnTrac in the first place.
The lines tied to size and weight moved in the other direction. Demand Large Package rose to $110 per package, a 4.8 percent increase, and Demand Over Max Limits rose to $595 per package, an 8.2 percent increase. OnTrac also broke out the unauthorized-package charge as its own standalone line for the first time, separating it from over max limits.
Your exposure this peak season follows your package profile more than your delivery mix. If you move predominantly small parcels, the two flat lines are the ones you touch most, so your peak costs stay close to last year. If you move bulky or oversized goods, you absorb increases across large package, over max limits, and the newly standalone unauthorized charge. Residential-heavy operations get meaningful relief this cycle after last year's steep jump.
Before peak begins, map your own volume against these four lines. Confirm which parcels cross the additional-handling and large-package thresholds, and tighten your packaging and dimensional accuracy to reduce the high-cost over-max and unauthorized fees.
TransImpact built the full 2026–27 OnTrac demand surcharge reference so you can see every line and its year-over-year change in one place. Download it here.