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Peak surcharges

Joan
  • Updated

Purpose: view the surcharges you can expect to encounter during this peak season (2021). 

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.

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. 

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

Netherlands/Belgium:

 PostNL
  • PostNL Packages
    During the period 20.11.2021 - 31.12.2021 PostNL charges a surcharge of €0.25 per parcel. This surcharge applies to all PostNL shipments. (With the exception of PostNL Mailbox and Collection methods. You'll find those surcharges below.)
  • PostNL Collectie
    During the period 01.11.2021 - 31.12.2021 PostNL charges a surcharge of €0.20 per parcel. This applies to the 'Collection' shipping methods.
  • PostNL Mailbox
    During the period 20.11.2021 - 31.12.2021 PostNL charges a surcharge of €0.15 per parcel

 Bpost

  • During the period 26.11.2021 - 26.12.2021 Bpost charges a surcharge of €1.00 per parcel

DPD BE

  • During the period 02.11.2021 - 31.12.2021 DPD BE charges a surcharge of €0.25 per parcel

 

Germany

 DPD Germany
  • During the period 01.11.2021 - 23.12.2021 DPD DE charges a surcharge of €0.30 per parcel

 

UPS (all markets)

Dduring the period 31.10.2021 - 16.01.2022 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
Additional Handling € 5,90/£5,60
Large Package €59,40/£51.00
Over Maximum Limits €212,00/£ 182.00

 
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 70 pounds (32 kg)
  • Each package in a shipment where the average weight per package is greater than 70 pounds (32 kg) 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.

Please note additional peak surcharges:

A Peak Surcharge applies to all international shipments from 19 European countries to all destinations, as well as all import shipments arriving and billed to those 19 countries (e.g., import freight pickup shipments, but excluding shipments from Mainland China, Hong Kong SAR, Macau SAR, and the other major Asia-Pacific origin countries listed above). Please refer to these surcharges here: Section B & C Peak Surcharge - International Shipments for 19 European Countries1

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:

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