FedEx has announced their 2009 Annual Rate Increase. Last year, they announced in late October, the year before the announcement was made in early November, so the timing of this year’s announcement is a little surprising.
 
Traditionally, UPS had been the leader in announcing annual increases. Starting in 2006, FedEx broke with tradition and was the first to announce their changes in express pricing. UPS then made public their intentions on both ground and air, followed by FedEx matching UPS ground increase. This has been the pattern for the past three years, and it looks like it will happen again for 2009.
 
The announced rate increase of 6.9%, less a 2% reduction in the fuel surcharge is to yield a net increase of 4.9%. Recent history shows us that in 2006, the announced net increase was 3.5%, in 2007 it was 3.5%, while last year it jumped to 4.9%, the same as this year’s announced net increase. However, the actual increase in standard list rates for select weight levels can vary from 2.0% up to 9.5% depending on service level and the weight/zone combination.
 
The January 1 re-indexing of the fuel surcharge may provide temporary rate relief, yet as fuel rises the surcharges continue to increase as well; on top of the increased list rate.
 
View the FedEx New Rates Effective January 5, 2009 >>
 
Reported by: Douglas Kahl, DLP, Vice President Strategic Initiatives, Tranzact Technologies, 360 W. Butterfield Road, Suite 400, Elmhurst, IL 60126. Contact: Voice: 630-530-3508; Fax: 630-559-0422.