UPS added a "Surge Emergency Fee" on April 19 that applies to a wide range of U.S. import and export shipments, according to a company notice last week.
Shipments between the U.S. and most other countries now have a $0.23 per-pound applied. However, shipments from China and Hong Kong to the U.S. specifically are facing a $0.32 per-pound fee. The fees, which are in effect until further notice, apply to the following services: UPS Worldwide Express, UPS Worldwide Express Saver, UPS Worldwide Express Plus, UPS Worldwide Expedited, UPS Worldwide Saver Pallet and UPS Express Freight Time of Day.
The recently announced surcharge does not apply for shipments traveling between the U.S. and several Middle East countries, as UPS already began applying a $1.34 per-pound surge fee for those shipments on March 22. It also installed a $1.50 per-pound fee for shipments from Israel and the United Arab Emirates going to the U.S., and vice versa, on that date.
Surge fees are not a new obstacle for UPS shippers. In 2024, the company levied a temporary surcharge on all China-to-U.S. imports. Last year, UPS installed surge fees during the peak holiday shipping season that applied to various U.S. import and export services.
UPS did not provide a specific reason in the notice for instituting the latest surge fees, but the carrier said it aims to continue to meet shippers' needs without compromising on service quality or timeliness.
The fresh surge fees present another example of how parcel shipping cost pressures emerge "in less obvious ways" outside of base rate changes, Robyn McAllister Meyer, SVP of parcel strategy and solutions at Transportation Insight, said in a LinkedIn post.
With the Iran war sparking higher oil prices, shippers have been contending with escalating fuel surcharges, which also apply to the surge fees UPS announced. Higher fuel surcharges contributed to another record-high quarter for UPS and FedEx ground delivery costs, according to the Q1 TD Cowen/AFS Freight Index.
