Skip to main content
Return to top

Peak surcharges

Joan
  • Updated

Purpose: view the surcharges you can expect to encounter during this peak season (2022). 

Note: the surcharges listed in this article are additional fees related specifically to shipping during peak season. Other surcharges may still apply. For more information, see our carrier page.
The carrier may change the shipping prices and/or surcharges mentioned below, therefore these prices may be subject to change. Even though we aim to inform you to the best of our abilities, no rights can be derived from the information provided below.

What are peak surcharges?

Black Friday and the Christmas season are right around the corner, resulting in a radical increase in shipping volumes.

Shipping carriers charge peak season surcharges to ensure that service levels and the delivery experience are still maintained despite this influx of increased shipments during this period. These additional fees compensate for the additional costs shopping carriers face, including increased staffing and longer service hours. They are applied in addition to other, regular surcharges. 

Peak surcharges per market

To provide you with an overview of the peak surcharges you may encounter, we have summarized them for each carrier/country supported by Sendcloud:

UPS (all markets)

During the period 02.10.2022 - 16.01.2023 peak surcharges will be added to the already existing surcharges for large and oversized packages, as well as for shipments requiring additional handling. These surcharges will be calculated per parcel as follows:

Special Handling Charges Peak Surcharge (Benelux and UK) Peak Surcharge (Germany) Peak Surcharge (Austria) Peak Surcharge (Spain)
Additional Handling €6.20/£5.90 €6.30 €6.20 €6.20
Large Package €62.50/£54.00 €63.90 €68.10 €61.90
Over Maximum Limits €282.00/ £239.00 €400.00 €398.00 €282.00


For a more detailed summary, please click here

Explanation:

Additional Handling Charge specifications

  • Any article that is encased in an outside shipping container made of metal or wood
  • Any cylindrical item, such as a barrel, drum, pail, or tire, that is not fully encased in a corrugated cardboard shipping container
  • Any package with the longest side exceeding 100 cm (39.5") or a second-longest side exceeding 76 cm (30'')
  • Any package with an actual weight greater than 32 kg (70 pounds)
  • Each package in a shipment where the average weight per package is greater than 32 kg (70 pounds) and the weight for each package is not specified on the source document or the UPS automated shipping system used.

Large Package
A package is considered a large package when its length plus girth (girth = 2x width) + (2 x height) combined exceeds 300 cm but does not exceed the maximum UPS size of 400 cm. Large packages are subject to a minimum billable weight of 40 kg in addition to the large package surcharge.

Over maximum limits charge specifications

Packages with an actual weight of more than 70 kg, or that exceed 274 cm in length, or exceed a total of 400 cm in length and girth combined (girth = (2 x width) + (2 x height), are not accepted for transportation. If found in the UPS small package system, they are subject to an additional charge.

More Resources
For more information about shipping with UPS over the peak season, you can consult the following resources on UPS.com:

  • Their holiday schedule outlines the latest collection, drop-off and delivery times during the final two weeks of the year

  • The days of operation page displays adjustments to our service due to national holidays

  • Service alerts on ups.com homepage notify you of disruptions that may impact your shipments, such as adverse weather conditions.

Netherlands/Belgium: PostNL
  • PostNL Peak surcharge
    During the period 20.11.2022 - 31.12.2022 PostNL charges a surcharge of €0.25 per parcel. This surcharge applies to all PostNL shipments.

DHL Express

DHL Express does not have a Peak surcharge but keep in mind that they do apply the ESS surcharge (Emergency Situation Surcharge). More on this surcharge you can find on their website.

 Bpost

  • During the period 25.11.2022 - 25.12.2022 Bpost charges a surcharge of €1.00 per parcel

DPD BE

  • During the period 20.11.2022 - 31.12.2022 DPD BE charges a surcharge of €0.25 per parcel
Germany: DPD Germany
  • During the period 01.11.2022 - 23.12.2022 DPD DE charges a surcharge of €0.30 per parcel
United Kingdom

EVRi UK

  • During the period 01.11.2022 - 23.12.2022 EVRi UK charges a surcharge of £0.07 per parcel

What else do I need to consider?

To ensure your order processing and shipping workflow continues to run as smoothly as possible, you can find more information in the following articles:

If you require our help regarding an issue with a shipment, we recommend the following articles: