UPS and FedEx 2027 Rate Increases and Surcharge Changes

Every year the headline is "about 6%." For most ecommerce brands, the real increase is higher, because the charges added on top of the base rate rise faster than the rate itself. Residential delivery, Additional Handling and oversize fees all go up more than the average.

Below is every change that matters for parcels, taken from UPS's and FedEx's own 2027 rate documents, plus real before-and-after prices and what you can do before the new rates start. For how the yearly increase works in general, see what a general rate increase is. For last year's changes, see the UPS and FedEx 2026 rate increases.

When do the 2027 rate increases start?

UPS: December 21, 2026, for both rates and surcharges. UPS's 2027 Rate and Service Guide comes out the same day.

FedEx: January 4, 2027, for FedEx Standard List Rates and the 2027 surcharge changes.

UPS starts two weeks earlier, in the middle of peak season. Anything shipped with UPS from December 21 on is billed at 2027 prices.

How much are UPS and FedEx raising Ground rates in 2027?

We compared every Ground list price in each carrier's 2026 and 2027 rate tables, for zones 2 to 8 and weights from 1 to 150 lbs:

UPS Ground: up 5.7% on average, from 5.4% to 6.2% depending on weight and zone.

FedEx Ground and FedEx Home Delivery: up 6.1% on average, from 5.3% to 7.2%. That matches FedEx's own published Ground average.

Here's what that looks like on real packages, at list rates before fuel and surcharges:

If you have negotiated carrier discounts, your exact percentage depends on your contract. Most surcharges, though, are flat dollar amounts, and they go up for everyone unless your contract discounts them too.

The surcharges are where costs really go up

Residential delivery

UPS Ground residential: $6.50 to $7.10, up 9.2%.

UPS Air residential: $7.00 to $7.60.

FedEx Home Delivery residential: $6.45 to $6.90, up 7.0%.

Most ecommerce orders go to homes, so this one adds up fast. A brand sending 20,000 home deliveries a year with UPS Ground pays $12,000 more in residential charges alone.

Additional Handling

Additional Handling applies when a box is too long, too heavy or packed in a way the sorting system can't handle, like a box over 48 inches on its longest side, over 105 inches in length plus girth, or heavier than 50 lbs. The 2027 charge for size, by zone:

The weight-based charge rises too. In zones 7 and up, it goes from $58.75 to $63.75 at UPS and from $58.75 to $63.00 at FedEx. One inch or one pound can be the difference, so it pays to check your boxes against the limits with our dimensional weight calculator.

Large Package and oversize

This is the biggest jump of the year. Packages longer than 96 inches, or over 130 inches in length plus girth, pay these instead of Additional Handling:

UPS Large Package, commercial: zone 2 goes from $219.50 to $250.00, and zones 7 and up from $286.00 to $330.00, up 15%.

UPS Large Package, residential: zones 7 and up go from $331.00 to $359.25.

FedEx Oversize: zone 2 goes from $255 to $270, and zones 7 and up from $330 to $355.

If you sell e-bikes, furniture, fitness equipment or other bulky products, this is the line to watch. See how to ship oversized items affordably and shipping oversized items with UPS.

Delivery area, remote area and address corrections

UPS delivery area surcharges rise about 9% across the board.

FedEx residential delivery area surcharge: $6.60 to $7.00.

UPS remote area surcharge, lower 48 states: $16.50 to $18.00.

UPS address correction: $25.25 to $27.50 per package.

Learn more about the delivery area surcharge and how to avoid shipping surcharges.

What a 2027 shipment really costs

Put the base rate and the surcharges together and the increase is bigger than the headline. List rates plus the residential charge, and Additional Handling where it applies, before fuel:

Fuel surcharges float weekly on top of all of this. See how fuel surcharges work. And in December, peak demand surcharges stack on top as well. See the UPS 2026 demand surcharges and FedEx 2026 demand surcharges.

Dimensional weight still decides what you pay

For most business accounts, both carriers bill on whichever is greater, the actual weight or the dimensional (DIM) weight. DIM weight is length x width x height in inches, divided by 139. A light product in a big box gets billed as a heavy one, and every 2027 rate increase applies to that higher billed weight. Our dimensional weight calculator shows the billed weight for any box size.

How to offset the 2027 increase

Check your boxes before December 21. Trim empty space to lower DIM weight and stay under the Additional Handling limits.

Rate-shop every order. UPS is cheaper on some zones and weights, FedEx on others. Rate shopping software picks the cheapest option for each package.

Ship from closer to your customers. Fewer zones means lower base rates. A warehouse on each coast cuts the distance for most orders.

Use negotiated rates. List rates aren't what most growing brands should pay. See how discounted carrier rates work.

Keep a second carrier ready. It helps on price and when one carrier runs out of room in December. See why a second carrier matters.

For more ideas, see how to reduce shipping costs after carrier rate increases and which shipping carrier is cheapest.

How 3PL Center helps brands with the 2027 increase

We run pre-negotiated UPS, FedEx and USPS accounts, and our system rate-shops every order, so each package goes out on the carrier and service that meets the delivery promise at the lowest cost. We flag DIM weight and surcharge risk when the order is packed. Our rates depend on your volume and shipping profile.

Our main warehouses are in New Jersey and California, so orders ship from the coast closest to your customer. Learn more about our small parcel shipping and ecommerce fulfillment.

Want to see real prices for your boxes? Try our shipping rate calculator, or book a call and we'll review your shipping profile before the new rates start.