FedEx Announces 5.9% Shipping Rate Hike for 2026

It's not related to tariffs: FedEx increased its standard rates by the same amount in 2024 and in 2025, too.

FedEx will raise the cost of shipping packages in January 2026, the delivery and transportion service has announced.

The exact rate increases will vary, but the standard list rates for US package shipping will go up by 5.9%, in addition to a handful of other surcharges.

Shipping costs have been earning headlines across 2025, due in large part to the US import tariff increases that have been issued, paused, and re-issued since February. However, these prices are identical to past annual increases from FedEx: They’re not tariff related.

The FedEx Price Increases

The 5.9% increase for standard rates will impact US exports and imports alike.

Additional surcharge increases are on the way in January 2026, too. Here’s the breakdown for those, via Supply Chain Dive:

 

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  • Additional handling for US package services is now $43.50 (up from $46.00)
  • Delivery area US package services (Residential) is now $6.20 (up from $6.60)
  • Delivery area US package services (Commercial) is now $4.20 (up from $4.45)
  • Oversize (Zones 3-4) FedEx Home Delivery is now $260 (up from $275)
  • Residential delivery US package services is now $6.55 (up from $6.95)
  • US inbound processing Fedex International Ground $2.50 is now (up from $2.65)

FedEx has the documentation for its official 2026 standard list rates available online.

Additional rates for other services including Ground Economy and Ground Multiweight are also going up, although FedEx has not yet specified what those increases will be.

It’s Not Impacted by Tariffs

FedEx increased standard rates by 5.9% in 2024 and in 2025. In other words, this is the third year in a row in which the company has steadily increased costs by the exact same amount.

Tariffs may impact shipping costs down the road, but this particular increase is just a cost of going business. In fact, delivery competitor UPS also boosted its rates by 5.9% last year.

FedEx’s International Processing Fee Rose Recently

That’s not to say that the many regulatory shakeups from the current government administration haven’t impacted FedEx at all: Last month, the company did increase its international processing fee in a response to the federal government’s removal of the de minimis exemption, which had previously exempted imported packages under $800 from any duties.

To be specific, the company boosted its international processing fee from $1.50 to $2.50 on August 18th.

That fee hike applies to all packages shipped through International First, International Priority Express, International Priority, International Economy, International Express Freight, and International Ground services.

The global shipping giant previously laid off more than 600 employees in Memphis.

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Written by:
Adam has been a writer at Tech.co for nine years, covering fleet management and logistics. He has also worked at the logistics newletter Inside Lane, and has worked as a tech writer, blogger and copy editor for more than a decade. He was a Forbes Contributor on the publishing industry, for which he was named a Digital Book World 2018 award finalist. His work has appeared in publications including Popular Mechanics and IDG Connect, and his art history book on 1970s sci-fi, 'Worlds Beyond Time,' was a 2024 Locus Awards finalist. When not working on his next art collection, he's tracking the latest news on VPNs, POS systems, and the future of tech.
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