FedEx published its 2026 to 2027 demand surcharges on July 22, 2026, covering three windows from September 28 through January 17 with per-package amounts that peak between Thanksgiving and Christmas. The UPS demand document still showed its August 28, 2025 update when we read it on 2026-07-28, and USPS had posted no 2026 holiday price window at all.
Two carriers published, one had not. We print what was there.
FedEx has posted its schedule for the coming season. Three windows run from September 28, 2026 through January 17, 2027, and the per-package amounts step up in the middle one.
| Category | Sept. 28 to Nov. 22, 2026 | Nov. 23 to Dec. 27, 2026 | Dec. 28, 2026 to Jan. 17, 2027 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Additional handling | $8.80 | $11.85 | $8.80 |
| Oversize charge | $95.75 | $117.25 | $95.75 |
| Unauthorized package | $535 | $595 | $535 |
| Ground residential | $0.50 to $0.80 across the season | ||
| Ground Economy | $2.55 to $4.05 across the season | ||
| Overnight services | $1.30 to $2.55 across the season |
Source: FedEx demand surcharges page, updated July 22, 2026, per fedex.com, checked 2026-07-28. The dynamic residential delivery charge, published at $1.70 to $8.00 per package on a peaking factor, applies to shippers billed for more than 20,000 residential and Ground Economy packages in a calculation week.
The UPS demand surcharge document linked from its rate page carried an update date of August 28, 2025 when we read it, and its periods cover the season just gone. UPS asks shippers to check its peak surcharge page again before tendering, which is exactly what we would suggest as autumn arrives.
| Category | Sept. 28 to Nov. 22, 2025 | Nov. 23 to Dec. 27, 2025 | Dec. 28, 2025 to Jan. 17, 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Additional handling | $8.25 | $10.80 | $8.25 |
| Large package | $90.50 | $107.00 | $90.50 |
| Over maximum limits | $485 | $540 | $485 |
| Ground Saver and Ground residential | $0.40 | $0.60 | $0.40 |
| Next Day Air and other air | $1.10 | $2.05 | $1.10 |
Source: UPS demand surcharges document dated August 28, 2025, reached from ups.com and checked 2026-07-28. The air, residential and Ground Saver rows use the periods beginning October 26, 2025 that UPS prints for those service levels. Amounts above 20,000 packages a week come from a separate higher volume table.
USPS is the third piece and the shortest. It had not published a 2026 holiday price window or a peak send-by calendar when we checked on 2026-07-28, so there is nothing to print. We would rather leave the row empty than guess a date somebody plans a season around.
Both carriers reserve their steepest peak numbers for shippers moving more than twenty thousand packages a week, scaled against a baseline of their own summer volume. Send one box in December and you meet the flat per-package figures instead, which for ground residential means cents rather than dollars.
Peak amounts on additional handling and oversize sit on top of the year-round charge, and those are already the largest fees in the book. A bulky carton that costs an extra $95.75 in late September costs $117.25 in December at FedEx. If a big item can move before Thanksgiving, move it.
Peak schedules change mid-season and carriers say so in the documents themselves. A quote run today reflects what applies today. That is the only version of this table that cannot go stale on you.
FedEx published windows beginning September 28, 2026, stepping up on November 23 and easing on December 28 through January 17, 2027. UPS had not posted its 2026 season document when we checked on 2026-07-28; the one on its site still carried an August 28, 2025 date.
For a one-off shipper the flat rows are small: FedEx published $0.50 to $0.80 per package on ground residential across the season and $2.55 to $4.05 on Ground Economy. The heavy numbers land on awkward parcels, where FedEx published $95.75 to $117.25 on top of the year-round oversize charge.
The volume-scaled tables do not. FedEx applies its dynamic residential charge to shippers billed for more than 20,000 residential and Ground Economy packages in a calculation week, and UPS uses a similar 20,000 package threshold for its higher volume schedule. Below that, the flat amounts apply.
It has done so in past years by filing a temporary price window. Nothing for 2026 had been published when we checked on 2026-07-28, so we are not printing dates or amounts. Check again in October, or simply quote in the week you ship.