UPS & FedEx Charges to Increase

Size Matters: UPS & FedEx to Bill By Dimensional Weight

Dim Weight Calculation Both UPS and FedEx have announced that they will start using dimensional weights to calculate package freight costs starting around the first of the year (December 29, 2014 for UPS and January 1, 2015 for FedEx). Dimensional (DIM) weight billing is based on the amount of space a package occupies compared to its actual weight.

Take a look at your current shipments to determine how the change will impact you and your customers – especially if you ship lightweight items. You may need to rethink shipping containers since shipping "air" will become costly.
Dimensional Weight = Length x Width x Height ÷ 166*
* 166 is the generally-used shipping factor for domestic ground shipments

Example:
A 2-pound package with dimensions 10"L x 10"W x 10"H is currently billed as a 2-pound package. As of January 1, 2015 it will be billed at 7* pounds
* 10 x 10 x 10 = 1000 ÷ 166 = 6.024 rounded up to 7 pounds
By planning for dimensional weight billing now, you may be able to mitigate the impact by using smaller containers, compressing goods, reducing packing materials and considering regional carriers.
Dimensional weight changes may also impact how you use UPS WorldShip, FedEx Ship Manager or other freight carrier's software. Fields required for calculating DIM weight may be on the screen, but the data may not currently be required. You'll likely have to supply this information for all packages shipped when DIM weight pricing goes into effect. Check with your carrier(s) for details on this upcoming change.