Parcel price index
What a parcel actually cost in July 2026
Carriers publish rate changes as percentages against a list price almost nobody pays. This page does the other thing: six cartons we picked once and will not change, priced to five cities from one Newark address, on one day, at the price a person would have paid at checkout. Thirty quotes in all, captured 2026-07-28. Next month the same six boxes go down the same five lanes, and the difference is the story.
The basket, July 2026
| Carton | Atlanta, GA | Chicago, IL | Miami, FL | Los Angeles, CA | Seattle, WA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Book box 8 x 5 x 1.5 in, 1 lb | $9.91 USPS GroundAdvantage | $9.91 USPS GroundAdvantage | $10.09 USPS GroundAdvantage | $11.12 USPS GroundAdvantage | $11.12 USPS GroundAdvantage |
| Shoebox 13 x 9 x 5 in, 3 lb | $8.48 USPS GroundAdvantage | $8.48 USPS GroundAdvantage | $8.56 USPS GroundAdvantage | $11.04 USPS GroundAdvantage | $11.04 USPS GroundAdvantage |
| Clothing box 16 x 12 x 8 in, 5 lb | $13.65 UPS UPSGroundsaverGreaterThan1lb | $14.15 UPS UPSGroundsaverGreaterThan1lb | $15.62 UPS UPSGroundsaverGreaterThan1lb | $19.25 UPS UPSGroundsaverGreaterThan1lb | $19.25 UPS UPSGroundsaverGreaterThan1lb |
| Appliance box 18 x 14 x 12 in, 10 lb | $22.62 UPS UPSGroundsaverGreaterThan1lb | $22.62 UPS UPSGroundsaverGreaterThan1lb | $25.87 UPS UPSGroundsaverGreaterThan1lb | $34.16 UPS UPSGroundsaverGreaterThan1lb | $34.16 UPS UPSGroundsaverGreaterThan1lb |
| Tool carton 16 x 16 x 16 in, 20 lb | $28.77 FedEx SMART_POST | $29.52 UPS Ground | $34.39 FedEx SMART_POST | $47.56 FedEx SMART_POST | $47.56 FedEx SMART_POST |
| Oversized light carton 24 x 18 x 18 in, 12 lb | $43.77 UPS Ground | $43.77 UPS Ground | $54.95 UPS Ground | $73.30 UPS Ground | $73.30 UPS Ground |
Basket average across all thirty quotes: $26.60. That single number is the one to watch month to month.
Three things July showed
UPS won the basket
Cheapest on 16 of thirty quotes, against 10 for USPS and 4 for FedEx. USPS took the two lightest cartons on every lane and nothing above them.
Three pounds beat one
The 3 lb shoebox to Atlanta came in at $8.48, under the 1 lb book box at $9.91. Shape decided it, not weight.
Air costs more than steel
To Los Angeles the 12 lb oversized carton cost $73.30 against $47.56 for the 20 lb tool box. Eight pounds of empty space was the more expensive freight.
Behind one cell: the 5 lb clothing box to Los Angeles
The table above shows the cheapest service. Here is everything that came back for one carton, so the spread is visible rather than implied. The same box to Atlanta was $13.65, which is what a zone looks like in dollars.
| Carrier | Service | Price | Transit window |
|---|---|---|---|
| UPS | UPSGroundsaverGreaterThan1lb | $19.25 | window not quoted |
| UPS | Ground | $19.30 | 6-7 business days |
| FedEx | SMART_POST | $20.50 | 7-8 business days |
| USPS | GroundAdvantage | $21.11 | 5-6 business days |
| UPS | 3DaySelect | $27.17 | 5-6 business days |
How the number is made
One origin, 07102 in Newark, New Jersey. Six cartons chosen to cover the shapes people actually post: a book, a shoebox, a clothing box, an appliance box, a dense tool carton and a large light one. Five destinations chosen to spread across the zone ladder. Every quote is a live request to the same system that prices a real order, so the figure is what a customer would have been charged, not a published tariff. Nothing is averaged across carriers, nothing is modelled, and no rate is carried over from a previous month. When a carton or a lane has to change, the change will be stated on the page rather than folded into the average.
Anyone is free to quote these figures. A link back is appreciated and lets your reader check the date, which matters more here than usual.
Questions
What does the parcel price index measure?
Thirty quotes: six fixed cartons priced to five fixed destinations from one fixed origin in Newark, New Jersey, on the same day. The figure in each cell is the cheapest of the five services returned for that carton on that lane. Because the boxes and the lanes never change, the month-to-month movement is a price change and nothing else.
Which carrier came out cheapest most often in July 2026?
UPS, on 16 of the 30 quotes. USPS took 10 and FedEx took 4. USPS won the two lightest cartons on every lane and lost every heavier one, which is close to the opposite of the advice small sellers usually get.
Why does a 3 lb shoebox cost less than a 1 lb book box?
It did on the Atlanta lane in July: $8.48 against $9.91. Weight is not the only input. A small dense carton can fall into a cheaper band than a lighter one with a different shape, so rounding a box down in size sometimes saves more than shaving a pound off it.
Why is the 12 lb carton dearer than the 20 lb one?
The 24 x 18 x 18 in carton is charged on its size rather than its weight. To Los Angeles that gap was $73.30 against $47.56 in July, so eight pounds of air cost more than eight pounds of steel.
Can I reuse these figures?
Yes. The numbers are facts we measured, and we would rather they were quoted with a link back than paraphrased. Cite the month, because they will move.