This week FedEx published its 2026 holiday Demand Surcharge schedule for U.S. domestic services. As in prior years, these seasonal surcharges apply on top of standard rates during peak shipping periods and increment further through the Thanksgiving-to-Christmas window. Rates increased across every category this year, and FedEx also restructured how the per‑package Demand Surcharge is applied to Express services.

1) Package-Level Surcharges

Applied per package / surcharge occurrence on U.S. Package Services and FedEx International Ground shipments. Three effective tiers apply: an opening rate, a higher peak rate over Thanksgiving–Christmas, and a return to the opening rate afterward

All three package surcharges share the same schedule: an opening rate, a higher peak rate over Thanksgiving–Christmas, then a return to the opening rate. Year-over-year increases range from roughly 6% to 9%.

2) Per-Package Demand Surcharge by Service This is the most significant structural change. In 2025, all express services carried a single per-package rate. For 2026, FedEx split express into two tiers – Overnight services now cost more than 2Day and Express Saver – and raised Ground Residential and Ground Economy rates.

3) Demand Residential Delivery Charge (by Peaking Factor)

A dynamic weekly charge for enterprise shippers exceeding 20,000 residential + Ground Economy packages in a calculation week. The per-package amount scales with your “peaking factor.” Every tier increased for 2026, and the baseline volume period moved to June 1– 28, 2026 (2025: this period was June 2–29).

Excludes FedEx One Rate packages. Two-week lag between calculation week and application week is unchanged; the season still runs across 12 peaking periods (application weeks Oct. 26, 2026 – Jan. 17, 2027).

How to Prepare Now

You still have runway before peak. These four moves help you enter the season with a clear baseline and a concrete plan to blunt the surcharge impact; each one maps to a place in Reveel where you can act on it today.

Reveel will continue to monitor these updates and keep you informed as additional changes are announced. If you have any questions about how these adjustments may affect your shipping costs, please don’t hesitate to reach out.