Business and individuals who ship freight via Federal Express ( FedEx ) will be be paying more in fees as of July 9. On that date, its FedEx Freight subsidiary unit is raising its shipping rates by 6.9%.
The Fed Ex rate increase as reported by MarketWatch applies to large shipments within the 48 contiguous states (i.e., Alaska and Hawaii are left unaffected by the new rate), between the U.S. and Canada, and within Canada. The new rate also applies to freight sent from the U.S. to Mexico.
The rate increase may be a reflection of rising fuel costs which has driven operational expenses upward in virtually every U.S. industry and are generally passed along to the end user and/or consumer.
FedEx, headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, is the world’s second-largest package delivery company behind United Parcel Service (UPS). FedEx was founded in 1971 by Chief Executive Officer Fred Smith in order to speed up air-freight shipments. FedEx also handles express, priority, and some first-class mail for the U.S. Postal Service.
According to the Chicago Tribune, FedEx Freight hauls goods with an average weight of 1,000 pounds and as such, it mainly consists of business-to-business deliveries.
In January of this year, FedEx increased shipping charges for FedEx Express and FedEx Ground, the package services most used by consumers, by about 4%. UPS also implemented a similar rate increase at that time.
FedEx was in the headlines last Christmas for another reason: The worst delivery ever of a flat-screen TV.
Which package shipper do you prefer doing business with–FedEx or UPS?
