FedEx Announces Higher Rates in 2021

• “New Normal” includes Freight and Accessorial Increases 4.9%-9.5%
• FedEx Introduces 6% late payment fee
• “Frozen Tiers” to end October 2020
• Learn how to mitigate these new increases, See below

​FedEx announced their 2021 General Rate Increase on Monday evening, September 14th. Overall, FedEx Ground Home Delivery, Express and International rates, will increase an average of 4.9%. Accessorials, fees and surcharges will see an increase of 4.9% -9.5%. While base freight rates mirror last year’s rate increase of 4.9%, Accessorial fees and surcharges will continue to add to the carrier’s bottom line. Although SmartPost and Ground Multi-Weight service increases have yet to be posted, suffice to say they are on their way. 

Given the recent rounds of Peak charges introduced over the past few months, 2021 Rate increases should be of no surprise. Due to the ecommerce explosion, rising costs, capacity and yield management concerns, carriers have went on the “offensive”. If you were fortunate enough to have your revenue tiers temporarily “frozen” due to COVID, FedEx will be thawing them out in mid-October. If all of these changes are not enough to digest, you will also want to make sure you pay your bill on time or else you will receive a 6% late payment fee, courtesy of FedEx. 

Keep in mind that these increases are only “service level” averages, while fees and surcharges will incur entirely different increases. Each company’s impact is uniquely dependent on a variety of factors. Let AFMS help you sort out the changes and how they will affect your business.

To get down to the details of this increase AFMS has prepared an expert analysis that you can find here.