Peak Surcharges Start This Week. Run a Week-One Invoice Check Before Overcharges Pile Up

The first invoice after a surcharge starts is the one most likely to contain mistakes, and the one least likely to be checked.

You do not need a full audit. Twenty shipments and an hour will tell you whether your invoices can be trusted for the rest of peak.

What is changing

Based on carrier announcements reported in trade press, UPS demand surcharges on Air, Ground Residential and Ground Saver packages begin October 25, and FedEx demand surcharges begin October 26, with both running to mid-January 2027. A temporary USPS price change for Priority Mail, Ground Advantage and Parcel Select is also scheduled to run into January 17, 2027, pending approval.

Exact amounts differ by service, zone and your contract. Pull the current notices from your carrier portal and use those figures, not the headlines.

Step 1: Pull a sample the day invoices arrive

Export the first invoice after the start date and select 20 shipments. Include a mix:

• Five that were tendered just before the start date.
• Five that were tendered on or just after it.
• Five residential and five commercial deliveries.

Step 2: Check the start date logic

Surcharges usually depend on ship or tender date, and sometimes on a scan date. For each shipment, note the date you created the label, the date of the first carrier scan and the date the surcharge applied. A package labeled on the 24th but scanned on the 25th is the classic edge case.

Compare what you were charged with what the notice says should apply. Do not assume the system is right.

Step 3: Verify the residential flag

Look at any address charged residential rates and confirm it is a home. Commercial addresses mislabeled as residential are a common source of overcharges, and the extra fee now sits on top of a higher base.

Step 4: Check the surcharge stack

List every charge on each sampled shipment: base rate, fuel, residential, demand, additional handling and any address correction. Make sure a package is not charged twice for the same condition.

Step 5: Dispute within the window

If three or more of your 20 shipments are wrong, you have a pattern. File disputes in bulk with the carrier, attach your label dates and the notice, and ask for a corrected invoice. Know your dispute deadline before you start, because carriers set limits on how long after invoice you can contest charges.

Step 6: Repeat weekly

Make the 20-shipment check a Monday habit through January. It takes less time each week, and it keeps your forecast honest.

A discount does not make a charge correct

Whatever your negotiated discount, a surcharge applied to the wrong shipment is still the wrong amount. Audit the charge before you celebrate the percentage.

Next step: ShipAid Shipping Rates gives you direct carrier accounts with no volume commitments, with 90%+ off retail pricing and 30-50% average savings, so your base rate starts lower before surcharges are added.