UPS said it will increase rates for commercial ground services an average of 3.5 percent next year.
The rate change takes effect Jan. 7, one month earlier than in previous years. Customers have been given 60 days' notice of the change in response to research indicating they preferred a schedule more in line with their year-end budget planning.
Rates for the residential premium also will increase from $1.05 to $1.10. Rates for overnight and two-day express services will rise about 4 percent, and rates for U.S. export services will increase 3.9 percent.
UPS said the 2002 rate increase will be in line with changes it has implemented each of the past several years.
Rates for UPS Hundredweight, which provides customers an alternative to less-than-truckload carriers for shipments of multiple packages to the same address, will rise 5.9 percent.
The temporary fuel surcharge of 1.25 percent will remain in effect as a separate charge.
UPS also will implement an additional charge for deliveries of premium express letters and packages to residential addresses, a price distinction that UPS has applied to residential ground deliveries for the past 10 years to offset the higher cost of providing the service. As a result, the price for air express deliveries to residential addresses will be $1.10 higher than deliveries to commercial addresses. The Delivery Area Surcharge of $1.50, assessed for ground deliveries to residences within certain remote ZIP codes, now also will be applied to express deliveries to these addresses.
The new UPS rates will be available Dec. 7 on UPS' Web site, www.ups.com.
In addition, online services such as UPS OnLine, WorldShip, MyUPS.com — UPS' Internet shipping service — and the Web-based Quick Cost Calculator will reflect the new rates when they become effective Jan. 7.
