Fuel Surcharges Are Pushing Up Package-Delivery Costs

[mahatmakanejeeves]

March 20, 2026 6:00pm ET

Fuel Surcharges Are Pushing Up Package-Delivery Costs

By Esther Fung

{Picture: UPS packages being delivered in Chicago.}
UPS packages being delivered in Chicago. Vincent Alban/Reuters

FedEx and United Parcel Service have dramatically raised their fuel surcharges in recent weeks as the price of oil has increased amid the turmoil in the Middle East.

It’s a continuation of a yearslong trend: Fuel surcharges have made up an increasing portion of overall shipping charges and driven up the cost of shipping at both companies in recent years. The charges accounted for 19.4% of the overall shipping cost on average for 2025, compared with 6.3% in 2020, according to data from ShipMatrix, a parcel data consultancy.

{snip}

[Wonder Why]

1. We used to have people who pumped you gas. Gone.

We used to have people who checked you out at the grocery store. Almost gone.

Next you pick up your own delivered packages at a distribution center.

How soon before you get your mail at the only post office in the country and bring your tax records to Washington DC?