When does the 2024 Canadian holiday shipping season start?

When does the 2024 Canadian holiday shipping season start?

The 2024 Canadian holiday shipping season starts in late September and extends into mid-January 2025. And the resulting uptick of volumes causes courier’s to apply surcharges to shipments. So what can be done to avoid those extra costs? Aside from shipping presents in August, not much; however, this blog explains the reasons for shipping’s seasonal increase, provides some examples and scale of the resulting surcharges by FedEx, and introduces you to Secureship. But regardless of the time of year, this Canadian-based shipping broker can find you the cheapest shipping options to anywhere in Canada or across the globe.

Table of Contents

• Why is There a Peak Shipping Season?
• FedEx’s Demand Surcharges for Intra-Canada Shipments
• How Secureship Reduces Your Shipping Costs
• Conclusion

Why is There a Peak Shipping Season?

In North America from late-September until mid-January of the new year sees an increase of shipping volumes. It is easy to point to Christmas gift sending as the culprit, but it is only one factor of several that coalesce to spike volumes and delivery surcharges.

For starters, shipping volumes have increased year round because of the convenience of e-commerce, which the pandemic exacerbated and made permanent. But as well, other cultural events and practices have contributed to this phenomenon, among them:

• Other celebrations such as Diwali and Hanukkah
• The increasing popularity of Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales events
• Business inventory adjustments – retailers and distributors restocking and clearing out their shelves and warehouses for seasonal changes and end-of-year stock rotations

Regardless of the reasons, as volumes peak during this time so do courier’s prices and surcharges as is shown in the next topic.

FedEx’s Demand Surcharges for Intra-Canada Shipments

FedEx is a popular and reliable choice for Canadians when shipping parcels to customers or family members on special occasions. Nevertheless, like any business it passes on its increased costs to customers when required as demonstrated below:

Type of Surcharge	Base* Surcharge Amount	Total Surcharge Amount (CAD)	Effective Dates
Oversize	$102	$152	Sep. 30, 2024 - Jan. 19, 2025
Additional Handling	$21 - 27	$27 - 33	Sep. 30, 2024 - Jan. 19, 2025
Residential Delivery	Varies depending on volume	$2 - 2.50	Oct. 28, 2024 - Jan. 19, 2025
Unauthorised Package Fee	$1,120	$1,570	Sep. 30, 2024 - Jan. 19, 2025

*FedEx applies a base surcharge for these services all year round; the total reflects the seasonal increase

How Secureship Reduces Your Shipping Costs

Firstly, Canadian-born Secureship reduces your shipping costs in two main ways. Firstly, as a shipping broker, Secureship’s online shipping calculator can find you the best shipping option with FedEx, Purolator, or UPS that will surely fit your budget and time requirements. And that could lead to a savings of up to 50% of a courier’s retail shipping price.

Secondly, Secureship’s website provides shipping information on a variety of topics, and in its Learning Centre you will find articles that explain non-monetary or indirect ways of limiting costs such as:

• Avoiding additional handling fees, surcharges, and value added services (Saturday shipping, residential delivery)
• Reducing the risk of shipment delays
• Preventing packages from getting lost
• Insurance – pros and cons

Conclusion

Unfortunately, few of us are well enough organised to ship Christmas, Diwali, or Hanukkah presents in August, but shipping earlier than normal will help get your parcels delivered on time. And there is also Secureship, a Canadian-based shipping broker whose bulk buying power with FedEx, Purolator, and UPS can find shipping options that could save you up to 50% of your shipping costs compared to the courier’s retail price.