FedEx holiday shipping costs now stack fuel and demand surcharges

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FedEx has entered mid-November with holiday parcel fees and fuel charges moving at the same time.

FedEx’s U.S. fuel surcharge table for Nov. 9 through Nov. 15, 2026, lists a 30.50% fuel surcharge for FedEx Ground, FedEx Home Delivery, FedEx International Ground and pickup services. That is 1.25 percentage points above the 29.25% rate shown for the prior week.

For domestic and U.S.-to-Puerto Rico package services outside that ground table, FedEx lists 34.00%. For domestic and U.S.-to-Puerto Rico express freight, the listed rate is $0.740 per pound. Export and import services are listed at 44.75%.

FedEx says fuel for Ground, Home Delivery, International Ground and pickup services is based on the weekly U.S. on-highway diesel index published by the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The Nov. 9 through Nov. 15 FedEx ground fuel percentage is based on the diesel price reported for Nov. 2.

The EIA’s Nov. 10 diesel update showed U.S. on-highway diesel at $6.127 per gallon on Nov. 9, down from $6.292 on Nov. 2. That drop does not immediately appear in the Nov. 9 through Nov. 15 FedEx fuel line because FedEx applies a lag between the fuel-price index and the surcharge.

FedEx also says fuel surcharge percentages and trigger points are subject to change without notice, and that the customer agreement is the final authority for a customer’s fuel surcharge calculation.

Holiday demand fees rise again on Nov. 23

FedEx’s domestic demand surcharge schedule separates package-handling exceptions from standard service-level demand fees. Demand fees for additional handling, oversize and unauthorized packages began Sept. 28. Demand fees for many express, residential ground and Ground Economy packages began Oct. 26. Both groups hit their highest published domestic package window from Nov. 23 through Dec. 27, then drop back from Dec. 28 through Jan. 17.

FedEx demand feeEarly windowPeak windowPost-peak window
Demand — Additional Handling Surcharge$8.80 per package, Sept. 28-Nov. 22$11.85 per package, Nov. 23-Dec. 27$8.80 per package, Dec. 28-Jan. 17
Demand — Oversize Charge$95.75 per package, Sept. 28-Nov. 22$117.25 per package, Nov. 23-Dec. 27$95.75 per package, Dec. 28-Jan. 17
Demand — Ground Unauthorized Package Charge$535 per package, Sept. 28-Nov. 22$595 per package, Nov. 23-Dec. 27$535 per package, Dec. 28-Jan. 17
Overnight demand surcharge (excluding FedEx One Rate)$1.30 per package, Oct. 26-Nov. 22$2.55 per package, Nov. 23-Dec. 27$1.30 per package, Dec. 28-Jan. 17
FedEx 2Day A.M., 2Day and Express Saver demand surcharge (excluding FedEx One Rate)$1.20 per package, Oct. 26-Nov. 22$2.35 per package, Nov. 23-Dec. 27$1.20 per package, Dec. 28-Jan. 17
FedEx Ground Residential and FedEx Home Delivery Residential demand surcharge$0.50 per package, Oct. 26-Nov. 22$0.80 per package, Nov. 23-Dec. 27$0.50 per package, Dec. 28-Jan. 17
FedEx Ground Economy demand surcharge$2.55 per package, Oct. 26-Nov. 22$4.05 per package, Nov. 23-Dec. 27$2.55 per package, Dec. 28-Jan. 17

A separate Demand — Residential Delivery Charge is narrower. FedEx says it applies to enterprise-level customers shipping more than 20,000 residential and FedEx Ground Economy packages in total during a calculation week. Rates depend on a two-week-lagged peaking factor measured against the weekly average for June 1 through June 28, 2026.

FedEx’s table shows Demand — Residential Delivery Charge rates from $1.70 to $8.00 per package for FedEx Ground and FedEx Home Delivery services. For specified express services, excluding FedEx One Rate packages, the table shows rates from $3.05 to $9.35 per package.

The extra cost can compound in the fuel calculation

For FedEx Ground, FedEx Home Delivery and FedEx International Ground shipments, FedEx says the related fuel surcharge is assessed on the net package rate plus applicable surcharges. Its listed surchargeable items include Demand — Additional Handling Surcharge, Demand — Ground Unauthorized Package Charge, Demand — Oversize Charge and Demand — Residential Delivery Charge.

For other package and express freight shipments that use a rate-based calculation, FedEx also includes applicable demand fees in the fuel calculation. Where express freight fuel is charged by weight, FedEx applies the surcharge to billable weight.

Whether a demand fee is included in the fuel calculation depends on the shipment, service and account terms. FedEx says the list of surchargeable items may be amended without notice.

The FedEx schedule fits a broader parcel-cost squeeze

AFS Logistics and TD Cowen’s Q4 2026 Freight Index release projected record-high ground and express parcel costs for holiday shippers, citing elevated fuel, seasonal surcharges and capacity constraints. The release projected the ground parcel rate-per-package index at 43.3% above its January 2018 baseline in Q4, a 5.8% year-over-year increase. It projected the express parcel index at 20.3%, a 13.8% year-over-year increase.

Tech Help Canada’s earlier coverage of holiday shipping costs moving from forecast to invoice flagged the shift from planning assumptions to actual seasonal charges.

The highest-risk packages are not the average packages

For retailers, 3PLs and marketplace sellers, the greatest exposure is likely to appear where holiday timing overlaps with residential delivery, dimensional exceptions, additional handling, oversize or unauthorized package rules. A low-dollar accessory shipped residentially may feel a $0.80 peak residential demand charge more directly than a higher-margin item. A bulky item that hits oversize or additional-handling criteria can face a much larger absolute increase.

Base-rate comparisons alone will miss part of that exposure. The published FedEx schedule points to three practical checks for late-November and December parcel planning: which shipments move during Nov. 23 through Dec. 27, which services or package characteristics trigger demand fees, and whether the checkout or accounting system reflects fuel on applicable surcharges rather than transportation charges alone.

FedEx’s tables are current as of Nov. 13, 2026, but the fuel line resets weekly and international demand surcharge documents may change through the season. The final invoice still depends on the exact service, package characteristics, account agreement and shipment date.

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