Integrators prep for holiday surge, UPS announces new rates

Integrators prep for holiday surge, UPS announces new rates    FedEx Corp. and UPS said they expect to handle record volume of shipments during the holiday season.
   FedEx said it expects to handle nearly seven million shipments on Dec. 15, up from its average daily volume of 5.3 million packages. FedEx Express' busiest day will be Dec. 22, when it transports an anticipated 3.9 million packages. The Memphis-based courier predicted its small package ground operating unit, FedEx Ground, will top last year's record of 3.1 million packages during the Dec. 1-15 period.
   UPS forecast its peak day will be Dec. 18, when it expects to deliver about 20 million air and ground packages globally, up more than 50 percent over the average volume. The world's largest parcel delivery company said it expects to ship more than 300 million packages between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
   Last month, UPS announced new rates for most U.S. services effective Jan. 5. UPS commercial ground services will increase 1.9 percent and U.S. air and international services increasing an average 2.9 percent. The premium for packages and letters delivered to residential addresses will rise from $1.15 to $1.40.
   UPS also will introduce a $1 delivery surcharge for commercial shipments headed to more remote ZIP codes. The new policy applies to the same ZIP codes covered by the current $1.75 surcharge for residential deliveries.
   In addition, UPS will discontinue the fuel surcharge on UPS Ground service, while a new index will be applied to air and international services to reflect their higher fuel consumption. The new UPS Fuel Surcharge Index will be based on the U.S. Energy Department's Gulf Coast spot price for a gallon of kerosene-type jet fuel. The index for shipments originating in Europe will be based on the Rotterdam ARA spot price for jet fuel.
   UPS is also expanding its size limits for oversized packages from 130 inches to 165 inches in length and girth, but weight limits will remain the same.