FEDEX AND UPS DIMENSIONAL WEIGHT CHANGE FOR 2015
UPS and FedEx both announced in 2014 that dimensional weight will be utilized to calculate the billable weight of a shipment. UPS will start using this on December 29th, 2015 and FedEx on January 1, 2015.
For an overview of what dimensional weight is an how it is calculated view the previous post on our Knowledge Base.
UPS will use dimensional weight on all UPS® Ground services and UPS® Standard to Canada packages. UPS already applies this method for UPS air services (domestic and international), UPS Standard™ to Mexico ground services and for UPS® Ground packages and UPS® Standard to Canada packages measuring 3 cubic feet in size or larger.
"UPS has been researching the potential expansion of dimensional-weight pricing for a number of years because it enables us to more appropriately align rates with costs which are influenced by both the size and weight of packages," said Alan Gershenhorn, UPS executive vice president and chief commercial officer.
FedEx Ground will apply dimensional weight pricing to all shipments. Currently, FedEx Ground applies dimensional weight pricing only to packages measuring three cubic feet or greater. This change will align the FedEx Ground dimensional weight pricing with FedEx Express by applying it to all packages. Dimensional weight pricing is a common industry practice that sets the transportation price based on package volume—the amount of space a package occupies in relation to its actual weight.
Read the official press releases from both here:
FedEx Announces Pricing Changes
UPS Announces Dimensional Weight Changes
What can we expect from Website Pipeline?
Website Pipeline has been monitoring this update and waiting on new documentation for changes to the way the website requests rates from these services. FedEx and UPS have yet to publish the exact requirements or any technical information, so we will be looking out for their details and insight. More details are set to publish on December 27, 2014. We will then notify our clients of any necessary changes to our eCommerce platform to allow for the consideration of product dimensions and shipping box dimensions.
However the changes affect your shipping processes, we're here to help facilitate the changes on your website. If you have any initial questions regarding these changes and how they might affect your website, please don’t hesitate to reach out to your FedEx/UPS shipping representative or to contact us.
How does this impact my website?
Websites using FedEx and UPS will see a difference in the shipping rates shown to customers during shipment estimation and checkout. After consulting the server support teams at both FedEx and UPS, Website Pipeline was informed that no changes are needed to the website for shipping rates to be available to website customers.
Can my website be updated to use Dimensional Weight?
Website Pipeline can update client websites to use dimensional weights upon request. Website Pipeline will have to quote this upgrade on a site by site bases as shipping setups vary from site to site. Contact your Project Manager or our Account Management Team today if you have questions or would like to upgrade your website to use dimensional weights.
