Change Signals Further Divergence of Its Operating Model from UPS’, and New Positioning Against Amazon FedEx’s announcement that it has rebranded its mail-integration service SmartPost to FedEx Ground Economy is more than just a name change. It represents an important…
With the peak shipping and holiday season behind us, and the GRI’s (hopefully) digested by the marketplace, we’re hoping the relative stability and calmness in the small parcel world will remain for a while. That said, there are still some…
One thing that’s come out of a rough 2020 for the shipping industry is that companies have become far too used to fees and surcharge announcements from the carriers. Extra fees like accessorials and general rate increases (GRI) have always…
Every year, when FedEx and UPS release their GRIs (general rate increase) announcing contractual shipping rate increases, it’s not always clear what numbers are changing. Rather than simply accepting the increases, no matter how big or small, it’s important to…
To the surprise of no one, UPS® has announced the continuation of its 2020 Peak Surcharges. This follows the recent, similar extension by FedEx®. Below are the details of the UPS announcement, with some important contrasts noted: FedEx’s extension of…
In a year that saw a lot of disruption and pricing volatility in the small parcel marketplace, no one wanted two more confusing and vague carrier General Rate Increase announcements to top it off. But here we are. The good…
FedEx has announced the continuation of its 2020 Peak Surcharges for Oversize, Additional Handling, and Smartpost past the previously-scheduled end date of January 18, 2021. While the surcharges are not as high as the Peak Season Surcharges, the market has…
Time for retailers is running out to ship holiday gifts to arrive for Christmas. Dec. 15 2020 is the holiday deadline for ground shipping with the nation’s three largest carriers, FedEx, UPS and the U.S. Postal Service, UPS holiday shipping deadlines for…
In mid-September, FedEx announced its standard 4.9% annual General Rate Increase. Not included was mention of changes to FedEx SmartPost rates — but the small parcel carrier has recently announced it will institute rate increases for this service in line with…
It’s been a crazy year for the small parcel shipping industry. But now is no time to think too much about what’s happened the past ten months. Smart small parcel shippers should be focusing on what they need to do…
