New UPS and Fed Ex Dimensional Rates

by | Wednesday, December 31, 2014 | 4 comment(s)

Effective Jan 4th Fed Ex is rating all packages not just by weight, but also by the cubic dimension of the package. (Previously they only did this on boxes over 3 cubic feet.)

Specifically, FedEx and UPS will take the LxWxD and divide the cubic inches by 166. The weight is then determined by the greater of the actual weight or the dimensional weight.

For example: 12x12x12 box = 1,728 / 166 = 10.4 LBS. Rounded up that is 11 LBS. If you put 1 LB in it, the shipment is rated as an 11 LB box. Conversely, if you put 20 LBS in the same box, it rates at 20 LBS.

This shipping change is particularly unpleasant and presents a unique set of challenges, especially for lightweight products, as accurate shipping estimates now require taking into account the ratio of a product’s weight to size.

We are considering all options to minimize or eliminate the impact on our shipments. Some items we ship Fed Ex will be affected. 

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1 comment(s)
Warren County Coins March 25, 2015 11:18 AM reply
<p>I for one, try to place my orders so that they are over $300.01 so that I might get free shipping. For those who might require heavy shipments like cases of 2016 red books, Transline might want to check out PRIORITY Mail by USPS. Some boxes are shipped for $12.95 and cover weights up to 70 pounds. Just a suggestion.</p>
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Pates Coins Crafts and Consignments October 15, 2015 10:18 AM reply
<p>Do you use USPS flat rate boxes? I have learned that if you go online to USPS you can print shipping labels a lot cheaper. I am not sure what discount you receive from USPS, but generally I have found that FEDEX and UPS does not come close to USPS pricing on my shipments that I send out to my customers.</p>
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Transline Wholesale Coin Supply (Store Admin) March 25, 2016 7:06 PM reply
Yes, we use USPS flat rate. Our shipping system is set up to ship both Fed Ex and USPS, including USPS flat rate. In short, every order is checked against all available shipping methods and the system selects the least expensive. In practice, for shipments under 2-3 lbs, flat rate boxes are generally less expensive than Fed Ex. However, since the vast majority of our shipments are well over 2 lbs, most shipments end up going Fed Ex. While it is true that flat rate boxes have a high weight limit -- ideal for shipping dense, low volume material, such as metal -- it generally is not as useful for lightweight high volume coin supplies. Most of our items simply do not fit in flat rate boxes, but when they do, we use it.
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Transline Supply Company January 25, 2017 5:52 PM reply
Update: As of Jan 1, 2017, Fed Ex and UPS not only increase rates by 5%, again, but changed the divisor on dimensional weight from 166 to 139. This means that lightweight, bulking items cost significantly more to ship.
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