Dear Justin Blair Customer,
We want to take this opportunity to inform you of some significant changes to how UPS calculates shipping charges starting in 2015. Both UPS and FedEx have decided to apply their dimensional weight formula to all packages for all shipments starting January 1, 2015. Per UPS’s notification letter:
On June 17, 2014, UPS announced that dimensional weight will be used to calculate the billable weight of all UPS® Ground services and UPS® Standard to Canada packages in the U.S. beginning December 29, 2014*. Customers will be charged the larger of either the dimensional weight or the actual weight.
Dimensional weight pricing enables us to more appropriately align rates with costs, which are influenced by both the size and weight of packages. Dimensional weight pricing also encourages reductions in excess packaging materials and overall package sizes, leading to related reductions in fuel use, vehicle emissions and transportation costs.
This change will most probably increase shipping charges for small shipments by more than 10%. For example, a UPS ground shipment of one pair of shoes, with an actual weight of 4lbs, will now weigh 9lbs per its dimensional weight. The dimensional weight will increase the shipping cost over using the actual weight by roughly 12%.
This change affects every shipper using UPS or FedEx. Everyone’s shipping costs will rise, no one is exempt from this new policy. Justin Blair is dedicated to investigating options to minimize this increase where possible, but we already make every effort to ship your orders using the most efficient packaging. Additionally, Justin Blair may make some operational changes to mitigate the the potential impact this will have on our business.
We are sending this notice to you today to make sure you are fully informed of the upcoming change. You will receive an additional notice towards the end of December as a reminder. For additional information we recommend visiting UPS to learn more about the new policy by going to ups.com/dimweight or ups.com/packaging.
Thank you for your support
Justin Bearak
Chief Operating Officer
Justin Blair & Company