United Parcel Service Inc. plans package shipping rate increases and a change in the fuel surcharge that will take effect Jan. 3, 2005, the Atlanta company said yesterday.
Rates for UPS Ground, UPS Next Day Air, UPS 2nd Day Air, UPS 3 Day Select and U.S. international services will rise 2.9 percent.
UPS Hundredweight Service, an alternative to services offered by less-than-truckload carriers, will increase 5.9 percent.
There will be no changes to most UPS retail rates offered at nearly 3,600 locations of The UPS Store.
Starting in January, UPS will reduce the fuel surcharge now applied to UPS Next Day Air, UPS 2nd Day Air and UPS 3 Day Select as well as international services by setting a maximum cap of 9.5 percent. This surcharge will continue to be calculated from an index based on the average price for a gallon of kerosene-type jet fuel.
A fuel surcharge of 2 percent on UPS Ground, UPS Ground Hundredweight and UPS Standard To Canada will be applied. It will fluctuate after January based on the U.S. Energy Department's On-Highway Diesel price. The current fuel surcharge is described at UPS.com, and details regarding new calculations will be posted Dec. 1 on the Web site.
Other pricing changes that take effect Jan. 3 include:
· The delivery area surcharge on residential and commercial services to more remote ZIP codes will increase by 25 cents.
· The residential surcharge will increase 10 cents for UPS Ground services and 35 cents for UPS Next Day Air, UPS 2nd Day Air and UPS 3 Day Select.
· The charge for additional, optional Declared Value protection will be 40 cents per $100, up to $50,000 per package, with a minimum charge of $1.20 for packages valued between $100.01 and $300.
· The company will extend UPS Ground service rates as an option for shipments bound for Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico that originate in the continental United States.
MyUPS.com and UPS Online Tools integrated into customer Internet sites will reflect the new rate information in January.
