Knowledge Base

In the months of June and July 2016, there will be two important changes to UPS Ground shipping that would affect retailers.

Starting on June 6, UPS is changing the measurement that determines whether the UPS Additional Handling charge will be applied to UPS Ground services packages in the U.S. Instead of 60 inches, any package with the longest side exceeding 48 inches will be assessed the Additional Handling fee of $10.50 for UPS Ground service. Additional Handling charge will still apply to shipment with a package’s second longest side exceeds 30 inches in length.

In addition, effective July 11, 2016, UPS Retail rates for UPS Ground service originating in the 48 contiguous states will change. Supposedly, the changes are designed to simplify the UPS Ground Retail rates and improve the competitiveness of UPS rates on the most frequently shipped UPS Ground packages. The new UPS Ground retail rates are available at the UPS website.

For users of the SolvingMaze Advanced Shipping Calculator, the rate changes will be automatic because the calculator is seamlessly integrated with UPS Rating. There are no special modifications required for your system and the rate changes will appear automatically starting on their effective dates. However, to avoid the Additional Handling charge, you may want to evaluate your packing needs and minimize using long boxes exceeding 48 inches for shipment that doesn't require the extra length. If you must, you can consider using boxes with adjustable depth so the package length is cut down to fit the shipment tightly. This will help you avoid the additional handling charge as well as lowering the dimensional weight. To make this easy for you, the SolvingMaze Advanced Shipping Calculator has built-in support for adjustable-depth boxes.