UPS Fuel Surcharge History and FedEx Fuel Surcharge History are linked.
That's because both carriers have been playing a game of cat and mouse for a long, long time. Unfortunately for UPS and FedEx customers, that typically means when one carrier raises their rates, or increases a surcharge, the other does the same.
How Often Do UPS and FedEx Change Their Fuel Surcharge?
According to FedEx, U.S. Fuel Surcharges for Express, Ground and Freight Services are subject to weekly adjustment.
According to UPS, U.S. Fuel Surcharges for Ground and Air are subject to weekly adjustment.
Should You Track UPS and FedEx Fuel Surcharges?
If you're tracking fuel charges manually....that's a lot of effort. We wouldn't recommend dedicating staff time to do it. Especially when Lojistic will track AND quantify the impact fuel surcharges are having on your business automatically. Lojistic is free and all surcharges are tracked in the Surcharge Summary analytic.
The UPS and FedEx fuel surcharge is just one of the potential hundreds that wind up on your invoice. And if you're not effectively managing the impact surcharges have on your shipping costs, you could end up paying more than you need to.
The link below provides a historical chart of the FedEx and UPS fuel surcharge rate. Of note, the UPS and FedEx surcharges (air and ground) are linked to their respective indices with a two month lag (i.e. the surcharge reflects the average fuel price from two months ago). In addition, the indices are typically recalibrated in conjunction with the FedEx and UPS annual rate increase. For example, the carriers increased the base freight rates by 6.9% in 2011, but reduced the fuel surcharge percentage (relative to the current index) by 2 points. This allows the UPS and FedEx to claim that the overall "net" increase is 4.9%.