JOC Staff | Nov 18, 2011 4:04PM EST
UPS announced it will raise rates for ground and air parcel shipments an effective 4.9 percent in 2012, matching the price increase for this year and showing confidence the carrier can maintain its strong pricing momentum into the new year.
The increases, virtually identical to those UPS has announced in each of the last five years, include an average 5.9 percent rate hike for UPS Ground shipments, with a single percentage point reduction in the fuel surcharge.
Air express rates will grow 6.9 percent on average over the 2011 base pricing, minus 2 percentage points from the fuel surcharge.
The overall increases are virtually identical to the price increases UPS and FedEx announced a year ago for 2011. But the increases are only averages across the range of delivery services, and UPS did not disclose details on any changes in distance-based prices or on the accessorial charges that often make up a large part of delivery charges.
Those changes will be included in the UPS 2012 Rate and Service Guide, which UPS said would be available for download on Jan. 2, 2012, the same day the new rates take effect.
UPS also said it will raise pricing for its industrial overnight and second-day air freight services 5.9 percent but will keep unchanged the charge for three-day delivery, the service most competitive with less-than-truckload business.
UPS, like other carriers in the U.S. domestic shipping arena, has been largely successful in holding to rate increases in 2011 after scaling back operations during the 2008-2009 and restoring capacity cautiously since then. U.S. domestic package yield at the company grew 5.9 percent in the first nine months of 2011 compared to the same period a year ago even though package volume slipped 0.1 percent.