The United States Postal Service is implementing a reduction in the Dimensional Weight Factor for several of its parcel shipping services which is scheduled to be implemented on June 23, 2019. Anytime there is a reduction in the Dimensional Weight Divisor the result will be an increase in the cost to ship packages that are subject to that change. This new pricing change will affect Priority Mail, Priority Mail Express, as well as some other parcel services offered by the Postal Service.
The pricing change however will only affect packages that exceed one cubic foot. So, shippers who have the ability to ship their products in packages of one cubic foot, (1728 cubic inches) or less would be wise to continue to ship in those packages to avoid this increase. USPS will continue to charge based on actual weight for all packages shipped that are less than one cubic foot.
The change USPS will be implementing on June 23rd moves the Dimensional Weight Factor from the current divisor of 194 to a divisor of 166.
Here is an example of how this pricing change will affect a Priority Mail Package whose actual weight is 5 pounds, where the package dimensions total 2340 cubic inches. Remember this is just one example of how this pricing change will affect USPS parcel shippers.
Priority Mail
Actual package weight 5 lbs.
Package dimensions of – 15 x 13 x 12 = 2340 cubic inches
Dim factor of 194 chargeable weight 13 lbs. = $32.80
Dim factor of 166 chargeable weight 15 lbs. = $36.90
Chargeable weight increases by 16.6%
Net charges increase by 12.5%
The message here is that parcel shippers need to constantly evaluate all of the continual changes all parcel carriers implement throughout the year. Shippers must fully understand the changing pricing structures of the parcel carriers they utilize and how these pricing changes will ultimately impact their businesses bottom line. Ignoring these changes without performing on-going benchmarking and target pricing analyses for their businesses will only serve to lessen profit margins which no business can afford in these very competitive times. A Parcel Audit is recommended to help save on shipping costs.
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