It is that time of the year again. The weather is getting colder, festivity is in the air, and the holiday shipping season is among us. If you are an internet retailer or retail shipper, this is the time of year to buckle-down and show your customers what you are made of. As always, we have some tips that you should keep in mind when dealing with your holiday shipping rush. You may recognize some [...]

Raising rates is inevitable when a company is trying to increase profits and shareholder value. When companies like UPS and FedEx raise their rates on their shipping services, there are many understandable factors they take into consideration besides their stock prices. Inflation, increased fuel costs, increased competition, and increased general overhead all play a part. We understand these reasons and pay for the raise in service fees. However, when ancillary service charges are raised it is not [...]

The United States Postal service 2011 rate change goes into effect on January 2, 2011. This is a reminder of what changes are coming. Below is a summary of what is changing and what is not: First Class Mail is not changing. The First Class Stamp will continue to be $0.44. Standard Mail &  Parcel Post will not change in January 2011. Priority Mail retail rates have increased by an average of 3.9%. Express Mail [...]

FedEx has just released their 2011 rate changes and there are increases across the board. These changes take place on January 3, 2011. The cost for shipping packages will increase an average of 5.9% for U.S. services, but the fuel surcharge will decrease by 2%. FedEx Freight and FedEx National LTL also will implement 6.9% general rate increases (GRI) effective Nov. 1, 2010.   Of interest to Shipsurance (and most shippers) are the declared value [...]