Quick Guide To The 2023 Shipping Rates For USPS, UPS, FedEx, DHL, and Regional Carriers
New year, new shipping rates. It’s become an annual tradition in the shipping and logistics world for carriers to adjust their rates shortly after peak season. The adjusted shipping rates set the standard for what to expect going into the new year.
By examining these changes early, it allows e-commerce merchants to project their shipping costs and factor that into their quarterly and long-range planning. As expected, most shipping rates will be slightly higher than in January of last year.
However, certain packages you ship will cost less year-over-year, most will be less than that charged during peak season, and certain shipping label discounts will also rise to help offset these increases.
2023 UPS Shipping Rates
UPS accounts created on Shippo can enjoy discounts on domestic and international shipping, including up to 78% off on UPS® Ground shipments, up to 73% for UPS 2nd Day Air® service and UPS Next Day Air® service, and up to 82% off on international services. These rates include Fuel Surcharge and Residential Surcharge for all services and Delivery Area Surcharge for Domestic Services.*
Shippo is continuing to provide competitive UPS shipping rates for e-commerce merchants into 2023 and will continue to provide some of the fastest guaranteed delivery times as well, with 90% of UPS® Ground shipments arriving in 3 days or less. Shipping with UPS also provides automated shipping updates, tracking information, and delivery alerts.
For merchants with their own account with UPS, contact your UPS Account Manager or visit UPS.com for more details on how your 2023 shipping rates will affect your business.
*Discounts off UPS daily rates. Rates are limited to shipping from the U.S. only. Rates and any applicable discounts are subject to change at any time without notice.
2023 USPS Shipping Rates
The new USPS shipping rates and several key pricing structure changes will go into effect on January 22, 2023. The rate changes will vary between service level and depend on where you print USPS labels. Here’s a quick look at what these changes would look like for Shippo users:
The three main structural changes are as follows:
- Zone 1 and Zone 2 will be split into different pricing columns: This shipping zone change means packages delivered to Zone 2 might encounter a slight increase in price.
- USPS will discontinue Priority Mail Regional Rate Boxes: You may use the Regional Rate boxes you currently have, but the Postal Service will not make anymore.
- Origin zones will be eliminated for Priority Mail shipments from the U.S. to Canada: Shipping rates for packages originating near the U.S.-Canada border might see an increase in rates, but those originating further from the border will likely see a decrease in rates.
However, many of the perks the USPS offers to e-commerce merchants will remain the same in 2023. For example, you’ll still be able to get free package pickup, free shipping supplies, free Saturday shipping, and no residential or fuel surcharges.
Check out our latest USPS rate changes blog for a complete breakdown of how each major USPS service level will work in 2023.
2023 FedEx Shipping Rates
You may have already noticed some of these rate changes since they went into effect earlier this month on January 2nd. The 2023 FedEx shipping rates are a bit more complex, but well laid out for merchants to see.
In a nutshell, FedEx Express packages and FedEx Ground list rates have seen an average increase in rates of about 6.9% across the board. The exact increase percentage from last year to this year varies depending on the size, weight, shipping destination, and shipping origin of the package.
A complete list and tables showcasing all of the FedEx shipping rates for services such as FedEx Home Delivery®, FedEx SameDay®, and International services can be found on the FedEx website.
It’s also worth noting that FedEx will update its fuel surcharge and delivery area surcharges on January 30, 2023. A delivery area surcharge of $13.25 will be applied per package for shipments traveling to certain ZIP codes within the contiguous 48 states. The exact amount of fuel surcharge will depend on market conditions and will be updated once more later this year on April 4, 2023.
Shippers will still have the FedEx Advantage Program which Shippo users have used to get lower FedEx shipping rates. The carrier is taking additional actions to make itself a more competitive option for e-commerce merchants this year. Once those plans are set, we’ll be sure to update you.
DHL Express and Regional Carrier Shipping Rates
DHL Express wasted no time in enacting their 2023 shipping rates as they went live on January 1, 2023. Merchants have seen an average rate increase of 7.9% for DHL Express shipments. There has also been slight rate adjustments made to optional services and surcharges.
A full breakdown of 2023 DHL Express rates for U.S.-based shippers can be found in their latest guide. However, it is worth noting that Shippo users will still be able to find up to 63% off DHL Express rates, helping to minimize these changes.
When it comes to rate changes enacted by regional carriers, these will vary greatly depending on where the regional carrier operates and more specifically, your contract with those regional carriers. For example, Ontrac (a very popular west coast regional carrier) has announced that Ground shipping rates have increased by 6.9% on January 1, 2023, but depending on your contract with them, that percentage may differ.
Best Way To Get Discounted Shipping Labels
Given the state of the economy and the state of e-commerce as a whole, the need to lower shipping costs has never been more important. That’s where Shippo comes into the fold. Shippo’s mission to level the playing field and allowing all merchants to get the same competitive shipping rates as large merchants will stay the same.
By signing up to Shippo for free, you’ll automatically see deep discounts for USPS, UPS, and DHL Express rates such as up to 89% off USPS cubic rates, up to 82% off UPS international services, and up to 63% off DHL Express services.
You can also connect your own carrier accounts to Shippo so that you can compare all of your discounted shipping rates in one place.
For more information on how Shippo can save you money on shipping labels and all the other features to help make shipping a seamless experience for your business, contact our sales team today.
