When do the peak shipping surcharges start for the 2024 Canadian holiday season?

When do the peak shipping surcharges start for the 2024 Canadian holiday season?

Depending on the courier, peak shipping surcharges start around mid-September and last until mid-January of 2025. For example, UPS applies Demand and Surge Fees from September 8 to January 18. One reason for the surcharges is due to the increased traffic caused by Diwali, Hanukkah, and Christmas celebrations. Avoiding shipments during peak season with advanced planning will reduce your costs; however, that is often not feasible. However, sidestepping the use of packaging materials that require special handling, or large packages, or those that exceed the maximum limits will save you extra fees year round. And there are other ways of lowering shipping costs, like using the Canadian shipping broker Secureship. With its intuitive online platform, it may find you a shipping option that saves you up to half of a courier’s price.

Table of Contents

• UPS’s Demand and Surge Fees
• Avoiding Surcharges and Other Costs
• Secureship – Your Canadian Shipping Broker
• Conclusion

UPS’s Demand and Surge Fees

The period of UPS’s Demand and Surge Fees started on September 8, 2024 and runs until January 18, 2025, the latter date is partially explained by package returns after the Christmas holidays.

UPS’s surcharges for Canada-origin shipments apply to Canada domestic air and ground services as well as standard service to the USA. The amount of the surcharge for extra services are outlined below:

UPS Extra Service	Regular surcharge (CAD/package)	Seasonal* surcharge (CAD/package)
Additional handling	$28.45 - $31.85	$7.70
Large package	$112.05 - $123.65	$77.00
Over maximum limits	$1,315	$495.00

*This amount is added to the regular surcharge

It is clear that some of these charges could have a significant impact on your shipping costs, and the topics below provide suggestions on avoiding and mitigating extra seasonal fees.

Avoiding Surcharges and Other Fees

The best way of avoiding peak season surcharges is to ship before or after that period. But as that is a four-month block of time, that would be very difficult to do for most companies and individuals. However, by being aware of other situations that incur a surcharge or extra fee, you could save some money all year round.

Additional handling

An additional handling fee is applied to a shipment when the container is something other than a cardboard box; for instance, metal, plastic, or wood. So, unless the goods demand enclosure within a special container, this surcharge can be avoided.

Large package

A large package is defined as having a length plus girth measurement greater than 330 cm, which is calculated by:

2 x parcel’s width + 2 x parcel’s length

Maximum limits

Packages exceeding a courier’s maximum limits incur hefty surcharges, which typically occurs if parcel is:

• Heavier than 68 kg
• Longer than 274 cm
• Have a length plus girth greater than 419 cm

Secureship – Your Canadian Shipping Broker

Whether you are shipping during peak season or not, using Secureship’s intuitive shipping calculator will identify the best shipping option for your budget and time constraints. And most importantly, you could save a lot of money on your parcel deliveries – up to 50% off the courier’s retail price (a result of Secureship’s bulk buying arrangements with reliable carriers like Purolator, UPS, and FedEx).

Using Secureship as your shipping broker will also save you heaps of time. Its platform is intuitive and finding a suitable carrier only takes minutes. And once you select a carrier, our system guides you through the parcel’s required paperwork and arrangement of a convenient pick-up time. After that, your energies can turn to more important tasks, like managing your business or simply relaxing.

Conclusion

Surprisingly, the Canadian peak season for shipping starts in mid-September and runs until the middle of January of the new year. Shipping during that long period not only delays deliveries but it increases transportation costs. As it is difficult to arrange all of one’s shipping for before or after this season, there are ways of sidestepping other surcharges whenever you ship a parcel. For example, special handling is charged for non-cardboard box containers; or when a parcel is deemed large; or bigger or heavier than the maximum limits. Finally, Secureship can help you reduce your shipping costs year round with large well known couriers that deliver across Canada and globally (Purolator, UPS, and FedEx).