USPS New Surcharge Fees - Effective April 3. 2022

USPS's new surcharges fee for non-standard package dimensions is planned for April 3, 2022.
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Last update:

June 22, 2023

USPS's new surcharges fee for non-standard package dimensions is planned for  April 3, 2022. These fees include a dimensional non-compliance fee and a USPS non-standard fee.

Continuous supply chain chaos and the volatile situation, so that the cost of all walks of life has risen, e-commerce industry is no exception. As a result, platforms raise commissions, advertising costs rise, and logistics carriers charge extra for shipping.

USPS announced an increase in shipping rates on January 9, 2022. Still, with this situation, the USPS added new surcharges scheduled for April 3, 2022: If the dimensions prove incorrect or not provided. The captured dimensions (length, width, height) are greater than 22 inches or greater than one cubic foot in volume; $1.50 will be charged for the package. 

Changes effective Apr. 3, 2022:

1. Packages that meet any of the following criteria and do not have accurate dimensions provided will have an extra $1.50 added:

  • Exceed one cubic foot
  • Are longer than 22”:

2. New surcharges for non-standard package dimensions (except First Class and Media Mail):

Length fees:

  • Longest side exceeds 22 - 30 inches         $4.00
  • Longest side exceeds 30 inches                $15.00

Cube fee:

  • Volume exceeds 2 cubic feet                     $15.0

As a result of these new surcharges, USPS recommend one or both of the following:

Allow shippers to provide dimensions whenever using the “Package” PackageType. This PackageType will represent packages that are a cubic foot (12 x 12 x 12) or under and with sides 22 inches or under, and therefore will not require that dimensions are specified when printing a label. 

If provided, dimensions will be used to calculate any applicable dimensional rates/surcharges or cubic rates per existing behavior.

The Reason New USPS Fees Are Being Added

In terms of dimensional noncompliance fees, the extra time required to correct or add correct measurement information to packages can impact the efficiency of the USPS supply chain. In addition, providing the right size allows the USPS to correctly plan and distribute the shipping service of these items during its sorting.

Similarly, when it comes to non-standard fees, USPS uses state-of-the-art equipment to sort and process packages. However, when packages exceed the device's capacity,  those items have to be processed through a semi-manual process, which adds to the cost of the process.

Changes effective Jan. 9, 2022:

The first 2022 USPS Rate Change is scheduled for January 9, 2022. And, new surcharges for non-standard package dimensions have been delayed to April 3, 2022.

The USPS price change will increase the price of products for Priority Mail's Shipping Services and Priority Mail Express by approximately 3.1% . Transportation service price adjustments vary by product. While price increases for Postal Services are based on the consumer price index, prices for shipping services are mainly adjusted to market conditions.

  • Increased rates for First Class Package Service, Priority Mail and Priority Mail Express, including Priority Mail Flat Rate packaging.
  • Increased insurance rates for international destinations.
  • ‘City’ / ‘Province’ / ‘PostalCode’ field requirements to print international labels. If any of these fields are missing, an international print will be blocked with an error.

USPS Increased Rates:                  NOW        AFTER

Small Flat-Rate box                      $8.45         $9.45

Medium Flat-Rate box                 $15.50       $16.10

Large Flat-Rate box                     $21.90       $21.50

APO/FPO Large Flat-Rate box     $20.40       $20.00

Regular Flat-rate envelope          $7.95         $8.95

Legal Flat-Rate envelope             $8.25          $9.25

Padded Flat-Rate envelope         $8.55         $9.65

Final Words:

With new USPS fees on the way, the need to compare different shipping rates from multiple carriers all in one place to make sure shipping costs are as low as possible. You can calculate your shipping cost before making a shipment through our free shipping calculator.

ShipSaving as your package steward and keeps updated on all shipping news. Although the price of USPS has increased, we still have the most considerate service and the lowest discount. 

Sign up for a free ShipSaving account to save up to 89% off USPS shipping rates!

Written on:

December 17, 2021
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