Effective March 26, 2020, we suspended the UPS® Service Guarantee for all shipments from any origin to any destination. For all U.S. origin shipments, the Service Guarantee suspension became effective as of March 24, 2020.
The UPS Service Guarantee has been reinstated for the following services only:

​The Service Guarantee remains suspended for all other UPS® shipments not specified in the above sections, from any origin to any destination.

As the effects of the Coronavirus impact our infrastructure, we will continue to seek guidance from local, state, and national government entities to ensure that we fully align with their regulations. We are committed to continue operating globally except where constrained by government restrictions.

Prior to shipping, please check to see if the recipient’s location is open, since many some businesses’ hours may have changed either due to local restrictions or at the business’s discretion. We will make three routine delivery attempts* before returning a package to the sender. Please continue to visit this site for the most up-to-date information regarding the impact of Coronavirus on UPS services.

*Where three routine delivery attempts do not coincide with a recipient’s adjusted (e.g., shortened, or weekend-only) business hours, the package will be returned to sender.

For your convenience, The UPS Store® and UPS Access Point® locations all provide access to your vital deliveries. Where available, you can sign up for free UPS My Choice which enables you to provide more specific delivery instructions such as where to leave deliveries, or redirect deliveries to another location, and also provides you with the ability to receive delivery notifications.
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Service guarantees are subject to change. For further details, see the UPS Tariff/Terms and Conditions.

Read Full Article On bestlifeonline.com

THE COMING DAYS COULD BRING A WHOLE NEW MEANING TO THE TERM "SNAIL MAIL."

Even in the age of email and using the internet for practically everything, there's a good chance you still rely on traditional mail to get a few things done. But whether it's your annual holiday cards going out on time or a care package you're hoping makes it to your loved one swiftly, it can still be a helpless feeling whenever you drop something off in a mailbox or at the post office. Now, the United States Postal Service (USPS) has announced it's making a major permanent change that's going into effect in a matter of days. Read on to see how your daily deliveries are about to get different.
​Read Full Article On bestlifeonline.com

Continued pressure on carrier capacities has led carriers such as FedEx, UPS and now DHL to implement additional shipping surcharges in advance of the traditional peak season.  As this timing is quickly approaching this peak period, planning for this is critical. DHL has now released its peak surcharge schedule as well. 
 
The recently announced USPS increases will primarily be applied to First Class type mail. Parcel Select rates will increase slightly for those shippers dropping parcels upstream in either the DSCF/DBMC. However, shippers who use UPS/FDX for SurePost/SmartPost  get their packages dropped  into the DDU (local Post Office). It looks like USPS will not increase those particular rates. Noteworthy because both UPS/FDX would pass it directly through to both SurePost/Smartpost customers.
 

Effective June 13, 2021, UPS will apply additional Peak increases to those international shipments originating in Japan destined to Canada. Previous increases, that were set to expire on June 12th, will continue to be applied on a per/pound basis. Depending on the service used, expect to see increases ranging from 67.6%-200% (on a per/lb. basis). All other previously announced surcharges will “continue until further notice”.
Although UPS did not take this opportunity to make changes to key Domestic Peak surcharges (as did FedEx several weeks ago), it is the collective wisdom amongst analysts that suggest additional hikes are on their way.
Specific details can be found at:
https://www.ups.com/assets/resources/media/en_US/2021_UPS_Peak_Surcharges.pdf
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Effective September 13th, Canada Post will increase rates to both Domestic, USA and International parcels. Increase ranging from 2.8% (US /International) to 3.5% (Domestic parcels only). Similar to both UPS and FedEx, other increases center around big, bulky and oversize packages flooding into their network.  Surcharges for Oversize/Unpackaged items will increase from $18 to $25 (38.8%) and Out-of-Spec packages will increase from $300 to $400 (33.3%).
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As a side note, any UPS International Mail Innovations or Purolator customers should expect to see increases to their bills as well. Since Canada Post makes many of the final mile deliveries for both UPS International MI and Purolator, rate hikes are typically treated as a “pass through” charge to the customer.

As always, the pricing professionals at AFMS pricing team will continue to monitor for any changes as they arise.

Effective June 13, 2021 until further notice, the amount of the Peak Surcharges applied to certain international shipments originating from Asia, including Japan will increase. All other previously announced Peak Surcharges will remain unchanged. 
Review a detailed listing of the applicable Peak Surcharges.
Peak Surcharges are subject to change and Peak Periods may be extended or otherwise changed. The latest information on Peak Surcharges will be available at ups.com/peaksurcharge.

FedEx remains inundated with elevated parcel volume stemming from continued online shopping resulting in longer delivery times, service blunders and upset customers. According to ShipMatrix, from March through mid-April, about 87% of FedEx Ground shipments arrived on time, compared with 95% for the similar service at UPS. 
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​UPS has once again reinstated its money-back guarantee after suspending the program at the beginning of the pandemic due to unexpected market changes. As a greater number of Americans began working remotely and staying home to reduce the spread of COVID-19, e-commerce has seen a major surge. Compared to the 13 billion parcels shipped in the U.S. in 2018, there were up to 14.7 billion parcels shipped in 2020. Amazon packages alone made up 1.9 billion of those parcels.

How will this impact businesses?

Because the pandemic is still continuing to impact transportation and delivery speeds, there's greater potential for businesses to file claims against carriers for late parcel shipping services. Even small percentages of late package deliveries could lead to hefty costs for UPS. It's for this reason that, as the pandemic continues, FedEx is still suspending its own money-back guarantee to prevent large charges for missing or late package claims.

However, UPS isn't reinstating the policy without a safety net of its own. UPS's reinstated policy only impacts its air delivery products, and the shipping carrier is extending the time frame in which its air delivery products are considered on time. Compared to the shipping carrier's previous deadline of 3 PM for its next-afternoon deliveries, the new deadline has been extended to 11:59 PM. In this case, businesses will still be able to file claims against UPS for late packages but the carrier has elbow room to make up for transportation and delivery delays due to the pandemic.

For businesses that rely on UPS's air delivery products, it's important to know how the new deadlines will impact the delivery of these products. Because next-afternoon air delivery products are commonly used by business-to-business customers, it's a good idea to plan ahead for an extra day to send documents and other B2B parcels. The new deadline also applies to UPS's next-day air products, which guarantees parcel shipping deliveries by 10:30 AM. The deadline will additionally apply to UPS's early morning air delivery products, which promise parcel shipping deliveries by 8 AM the next morning.

Keep an eye on your parcel shipping contract

With UPS reinstating its money-back guarantee program with a new deadline extension, it's important to make sure that your business isn't being taken advantage of. Approximately $2 billion in parcel shipping refunds and credits go unclaimed by U.S. businesses every year, and late parcel shipping not only affects your company's bottom line but also your brand reputation.

AFMS' parcel contract auditing and parcel contract optimization can help guarantee your business is getting the most out of its shipping contract. To learn more about how parcel shipping optimization and parcel shipping negotiation can benefit your business, contact AFMS today.