FedEx Announces 2014 Rate Increases for Express Products

This week FedEx announced average rate increases of 3.9% for Express and International services effective January 6, 2014. Unlike previous rates increases, FedEx will not offset rate increases by modifying fuel surcharge indexes.

However, for many shippers the impact will be greater than the “average” increases announced, especially for deferred express products:

 

Many accessorial fees and surcharges – like Delivery Area Surcharges, Residential Surcharges, Declared Value and others – will also take an increase in 2014. If fact, all surcharge increases announced exceed the 3.9% average as reported by FedEx. Refer to chart below for a partial list of those accessorial fees and surcharges increasing in 2014:

 

FedEx Ground and FedEx Home Delivery rates will be announced later this year. Historically, FedEx matches the Ground increases set by rival United Parcel Service.

The general rate increase (GRI) has played a significant role in FedEx’s revenue management strategy.

Mike Glenn, FedEx’s Executive Vice President, Market Development and Corporate Communications reported that well over half of all FedEx parcel traffic receives the full GRI.

Glenn recently said, “That’s been one of our key strategies, to substantially increase the amount of parcel traffic that is covered by the GRI. And we’ve done a terrific job over the last three to four years. We certainly have contracts that still are in place today that are locked into a GRI, and it’s based upon the contract term and not the annual GRI. But our sales team and our pricing science team have done a phenomenal job of working with customers to get them on an annual rate increase. So we’re very pleased with that.”