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FedEx 2026 Demand Surcharges: Dates, Fees, and What Shippers Need to Know
FedEx 2026 demand surcharges run Sept. 28 through Jan. 17. See peak-season fees by service, the highest-cost weeks, and who is affected.
Published on July 30, 2026
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FedEx has announced its 2026 holiday demand surcharges for U.S. domestic package services. The first fees begin September 28, 2026. Most package surcharges begin October 26, and the highest rates apply from November 23 through December 27.
The published schedule affects common residential Ground, Home Delivery, Express, and Ground Economy shipments. It also raises the cost of packages that already trigger Additional Handling, Oversize, or Ground Unauthorized Package charges.
The schedule below applies to U.S. domestic package services. FedEx maintains separate demand-surcharge schedules for international shipments. View FedEx's official demand surcharge notice.
2026 FedEx demand surcharge dates at a glance
FedEx uses two start dates and three pricing periods.
| Period | Additional Handling, Oversize, and Ground Unauthorized Package | Most Express, Residential Ground/Home Delivery, and Ground Economy services |
|---|---|---|
| Early peak | Sept. 28-Nov. 22, 2026 | Oct. 26-Nov. 22, 2026 |
| Holiday peak | Nov. 23-Dec. 27, 2026 | Nov. 23-Dec. 27, 2026 |
| Late peak | Dec. 28, 2026-Jan. 17, 2027 | Dec. 28, 2026-Jan. 17, 2027 |
The Black Friday through Christmas window carries the highest published fees. That means the same order can cost more to ship simply because its label date falls in that five-week period.
2026 FedEx demand surcharge table
These fees are added per package, on top of the normal transportation charge and any regular applicable surcharge.
| Service or fee | Early peak | Holiday peak | Late peak |
|---|---|---|---|
| Additional Handling Surcharge | $8.80 | $11.85 | $8.80 |
| Oversize Charge | $95.75 | $117.25 | $95.75 |
| Ground Unauthorized Package Charge | $535.00 | $595.00 | $535.00 |
| First Overnight, Priority Overnight, Standard Overnight* | $1.30 | $2.55 | $1.30 |
| FedEx 2Day A.M., FedEx 2Day, Express Saver* | $1.20 | $2.35 | $1.20 |
| Ground Residential and Home Delivery Residential | $0.50 | $0.80 | $0.50 |
| FedEx Ground Economy | $2.55 | $4.05 | $2.55 |
\* Excludes FedEx One Rate packages.
\ FedEx Ground Economy is a contract-only service.
Source: FedEx U.S. package demand surcharge schedule, updated July 22, 2026.
For the prior season's schedule and context, see FedEx 2025 Demand Surcharges.
Which FedEx shipments are most affected?
The surcharge on a standard residential Ground or Home Delivery package is modest on its own: $0.80 at the holiday-peak rate. The bigger exposure is on packages that already carry special-handling charges.
Bulky, irregular, or oversized packages
The peak Additional Handling surcharge reaches $11.85 per package. The peak Oversize Charge reaches $117.25. Those demand surcharges are in addition to the regular Additional Handling or Oversize Charge, not replacements for them.
Before peak, recheck the dimensions and packaging for items near a surcharge trigger. A box change, bundle, or holiday gift set can move a shipment into a higher-cost category even if the product itself has not changed. For more detail on the year-round triggers, see how to avoid shipping surcharges with UPS, FedEx, and USPS.
Ground Economy shipments
FedEx Ground Economy has the highest standard per-package demand fee in this schedule: $4.05 during the holiday-peak period. It is a contract-only service, so brands using it should confirm that their shipping system reflects the seasonal rate before the October 26 start date.
Express shipments used to rescue late orders
Overnight and two-day services also pick up demand fees between October 26 and January 17. The fee is not a reason to miss a customer promise, but it is a reason to set realistic order cutoffs and avoid relying on expedited shipping as a last-minute peak-season plan.
The enterprise residential demand charge: the rule many summaries miss
FedEx also has a separate Demand — Residential Delivery Charge for enterprise customers. It applies when an enterprise tenders more than 20,000 residential and FedEx Ground Economy packages in a calculation week for U.S. domestic shipments.
The charge is assessed in addition to the ordinary Residential Delivery Charge. FedEx calculates a customer's weekly peaking factor against the customer's average residential and Ground Economy volume from June 1 through June 28, 2026, then applies the resulting charge two weeks later. Contracted discounts or caps on the regular Residential Delivery Charge do not apply to this demand charge.
| Peaking factor | Ground and Home Delivery | Express services* |
|---|---|---|
| More than 105% to 125% | $1.70 | $3.05 |
| More than 125% to 150% | $2.40 | $3.75 |
| More than 150% to 200% | $2.70 | $4.05 |
| More than 200% to 300% | $3.35 | $4.70 |
| More than 300% to 400% | $5.60 | $6.95 |
| More than 400% | $8.00 | $9.35 |
\* First Overnight, Priority Overnight, Standard Overnight, 2Day A.M., 2Day, and Express Saver; excludes FedEx One Rate packages.
For enterprise shippers, the important number is not just holiday volume. It is whether weekly residential and Ground Economy volume rises above the June baseline. The calculation weeks begin October 5, and the first application week is October 26-November 1.
How the 2026 demand fees can stack
A demand surcharge is not the whole shipping price. It layers onto the transportation rate and any applicable year-round charges.
For example, a residential shipment that also requires Additional Handling may carry both its ordinary residential and handling charges, plus the demand surcharge tied to its residential service and the demand Additional Handling surcharge. The exact total depends on the service, package characteristics, destination, and applicable contract terms.
That is why looking only at the $0.80 residential holiday fee can understate peak exposure. Review the services and package profiles that make up most of your October through December labels, especially large, fragile, non-standard, or DIM-weighted products.
What shippers should do before peak season
Pull your last peak-season shipping data. Group shipments by service, residential status, weight, dimensions, and any handling or oversize charge. This shows where the new schedule will matter most.
Check packaging changes before gift-set season. Measure finished holiday bundles, not just the standard SKU carton. Added inserts or protective packaging can change billable dimensions.
Set customer-facing order cutoffs before expedited volume spikes. FedEx has not yet published its 2026 Christmas ship-by dates. Build your dates from the eventual carrier deadlines and your own fulfillment cutoff, rather than assuming an overnight service will solve every late order.
Confirm your rate-shopping and label tools use the correct ship date. The surcharge is determined by the package's applicable period, so a label printed for a later date can rate differently than an earlier one.
Model the full cost, not just the base rate. Peak demand fees, DIM weight, additional handling, residential delivery, and zone can all affect the final invoice. Our guide to demand surcharges explains how these fees work across carriers, and our discounted carrier rates page explains what to compare beyond the published list rate.
What about UPS and USPS holiday surcharges?
As of July 29, 2026, FedEx is the first major U.S. parcel carrier to publish a domestic 2026 holiday demand-surcharge schedule. UPS has not released its 2026 domestic peak schedule, and USPS has not announced a 2026 holiday-specific price adjustment.
USPS does have a separate transportation-related temporary price change in effect through January 17, 2027. That is not the same thing as a holiday-specific peak filing. We will update our carrier comparison when UPS and USPS publish their 2026 information.
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