UPS implemented surge emergency fees for goods shipped from India, China, and Hong Kong to the United States, plus additional per-pound fees for international shipments from the United States to Israel and the United Arab Emirates. USPS added a temporary 8% fuel surcharge effective in late April, scheduled to remain until at least January 2027. Fuel surcharges allow carriers to adjust for higher operating costs without changing base rates, and USPS faces legal limits on certain price increases. E-commerce brands are comparing carriers more carefully, factoring in delivery speed and bulk requirements. Brands are also using AI-powered shipping tools to automate fulfillment and may subsidize faster shipping for higher-priced items while using slower, user-paid shipping for lower-value orders. Higher fuel costs are also driving more inventory to be shipped to the United States ahead of forecast demand.
"To help mitigate costs, Steinitz said e-commerce companies are shopping around more before selecting a carrier. They're taking into account not only rates but also delivery speed, as well as the bulk requirements that may be necessary for larger-volume orders. "This has really made logistics a strategic choice and point of differentiation, as opposed to a commoditized function you plug in at checkout," he said."
"Steinitz said ShipStation, a shipping software company for brands owned by Auctane, is also seeing increased usage of AI-powered tools to help automate fulfillment more efficiently. Some brands may be willing to subsidize faster shipping for higher-priced items, for example, while choosing slower speeds and user-paid shipping for lower-value orders. Higher fuel costs also mean that companies are shipping more inventory to the United States ahead of forecast demand, Steinitz said."
Read at Digiday
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]