Corrugated, fully encased
UPS names anything not fully boxed in corrugated cardboard as an additional handling trigger. A shrink-wrapped tote or a bare drum invites the charge.
Accessorials, not averages
UPS and FedEx rate increases in 2026
The headline percentage that gets quoted every January is an average across a rate card almost nobody pays in full, and neither carrier states one on the pages we read. What both publish instead are dated surcharge changes with exact amounts, and on a small US parcel those are the numbers that decide the invoice.
Amounts and dates citedups.com and fedex.comChecked 2026-07-28
The fee list is the rate change
Additional handling on one awkward box can cost more than a whole percentage point on the base rate.
What UPS published for 2026
Read from the UPS shipping costs and rates page on 2026-07-28. Several of these apply to import, export and freight movements rather than a domestic parcel, and they are marked as such, because a page that blurs that line is not much use to anyone posting a box across two states.
| Change | Amount as published | Effective | Applies to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Updated Rate and Service Guides | not a single figure | July 6, 2026 | Daily and Retail rate guides |
| Extended Area Surcharge | greater of $61.00 per shipment or $0.61 per lb | July 6, 2026 | US import and export |
| Pickup Area Surcharge | greater of $61.00 per shipment or $0.61 per lb | July 6, 2026 | Express Freight and Express Freight Midday |
| Remote Area Surcharge | greater of $61.00 per shipment or $0.61 per lb | July 6, 2026 | Non-US origins and destinations |
| Residential Surcharge | $6.60 per package | July 6, 2026 | UPS Standard Services |
| Residential Surcharge | $6.95 per package | July 6, 2026 | UPS International Air Services and UPS 3 Day Select |
| Non-Compliant Label Fee | $5.00 per package | August 2, 2026 | UPS Ground Saver |
The last row is the one a small shipper should care about. UPS Ground Saver is the cheapest UPS tier in most of our quotes, and on a small parcel a $5.00 label fee moves more money than any average percentage does.
We publish no UPS figure for additional handling or large package surcharges, because UPS states the qualifying criteria for those on its own support pages without attaching prices to them there. The criteria are further down this page.
What FedEx published for 2026
FedEx takes the opposite approach and prints amounts. Its 2026 surcharge and fee changes are dated Jan. 5, 2026 unless otherwise noted, from the surcharge and fee changes document on fedex.com. The additional handling table below is the one most likely to appear on a parcel invoice.
| Trigger | Zone 2 | Zones 3-4 | Zones 5-6 | Zone 7 and beyond |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dimension | $29.50 | $32.75 | $38.50 | $40.75 |
| Weight | $46.00 | $50.25 | $56.25 | $58.75 |
| Packaging | $26.50 | $30.75 | $33.00 | $33.75 |
FedEx sets a hierarchy so these do not stack without limit: if a package qualifies for more than one of Additional Handling by dimension, packaging or weight, the Oversize Charge or the Unauthorized Package Charge, only the highest surcharge applies, after discounts.
| Charge | Amount |
|---|---|
| Residential Delivery Charge | $6.95 |
| Delivery Area Surcharge, residential | $6.60 |
| Delivery Area Surcharge, extended residential | $8.80 |
| Address Correction | $25.50 |
| Missing or Invalid Account Number | $25.50 |
| Adult Signature Required | $10.00 |
| Direct or Indirect Signature Required | $7.60 |
| Oversize Charge, US package services, Zone 2 | $255.00 |
| Oversize Charge, US package services, Zones 3-4 | $275.00 |
| Oversize Charge, US package services, Zones 5-6 | $320.00 |
FedEx also raised its Disbursement Fee from the greater of $15 or 2 percent of duty, tax, and merchandise processing fee charges to the greater of $17.50 or 2.5 percent, effective July 20, 2026 (fedex.com rate changes page, checked 2026-07-28). That one belongs to cross-border movements, which we do not sell.
What sets these charges off
Amounts are half the story. The trigger conditions decide whether a box is ordinary or expensive, and both carriers publish them.
- UPS additional handling applies to a package with the longest side over 48 inches or the second-longest over 30 inches, an average package weight above 50 pounds, anything not fully encased in corrugated cardboard, any cylindrical item such as a barrel, drum, pail or tire that is not boxed, and domestic packages over 10,368 cubic inches (ups.com, checked 2026-07-28).
- UPS large package applies when length plus girth exceeds 130 inches, length exceeds 96 inches, cubic size exceeds 17,280 cubic inches or weight exceeds 110 lbs, and it bills at a minimum of 90 lbs. Where that surcharge lands, UPS says the additional handling charge is not assessed on top of it.
- FedEx oversize applies to packages over 96 inches in length or 130 inches in length and girth, billed on actual rounded weight or dimensional weight whichever is greater, with a 90 lb minimum billable weight.
- UPS outer limits stand at 150 lbs, 108 inches of length and 165 inches of length and girth combined. Past those, a parcel label is the wrong product.
The cheapest defence against all of this is a square, fully boxed, tightly packed parcel that stays under the thresholds. The second cheapest is checking a real quote for the finished carton, since a box that trips a handling rule usually shows up in the price before it shows up on an invoice.
Anything past the UPS ceiling is freight rather than parcel. Send the dimensions and both addresses through our freight review form and it gets routed that way instead.
A 25 lb carton on one lane
For scale against those fee amounts, here is a 20 x 16 x 12 in carton at 25 lb quoted from Newark, NJ 07102 to Atlanta, GA 30303 on 2026-07-28.
| Carrier | Service | Price | Transit window returned |
|---|---|---|---|
| FedEx | Ground Economy | $28.77 | 6-7 business days |
| UPS | Ground | $29.52 | 2-3 business days |
| FedEx | Ground | $41.48 | 5-6 business days |
| UPS | 3 Day Select | $43.48 | 5-6 business days |
| UPS | Ground Saver | $46.73 | none returned |
Put a $46.00 additional handling charge next to that $28.77 and the ranking becomes irrelevant. One trigger costs more than the entire shipment, which is why the fee list deserves more attention than the annual percentage.
Get the address right first
FedEx bills $25.50 for an address correction. Two minutes checking a suite number is the best-paid two minutes in shipping.
Ground Saver labels have rules now
From August 2, 2026 UPS applies a $5.00 per package Non-Compliant Label Fee on Ground Saver. Print at full size and keep the barcode flat and unwrinkled.
Carrier increases, answered
How much did UPS raise rates in 2026?
The UPS shipping costs and rates page we read on 2026-07-28 states no single percentage. It lists dated changes instead, including updated Rate and Service Guides effective July 6, 2026 and a $5.00 per package Non-Compliant Label Fee on UPS Ground Saver from August 2, 2026.
How much did FedEx raise rates in 2026?
FedEx dates its 2026 surcharge and fee changes to Jan. 5, 2026 and publishes the amounts rather than a percentage. Additional Handling on a dimension trigger runs $29.50 in Zone 2 up to $40.75 in Zone 7 and beyond, and the Residential Delivery Charge is $6.95.
Which fee is most likely to hit a small parcel?
Residential delivery and additional handling. FedEx prices residential delivery at $6.95 and adds a Delivery Area Surcharge of $6.60 residential or $8.80 extended residential, while UPS applies additional handling to any package that is not fully encased in corrugated cardboard.
Are these surcharges inside the price I see here?
The figure at our checkout is the whole amount collected for the box you described to the destination you gave. Charges that depend on what happens after collection, such as a re-measure or an address correction, can still be billed by the carrier afterwards.