Fuel surcharges for international air express shipments have risen around the world this month,except for FedEx and DHL surcharges in Europe, as the result of rising oil prices over the last few
months, CEP-Research analysis shows. The increase in October follows hikes in August and September.In Europe, UPS raised its surcharge to 16 per cent in October from 15 per cent last month.TNT also increased its October surcharges from 20 per cent in September to 20.5 per cent. DHL andFedEx surcharges, however, both remained at the September level of 17 per cent this month.
In the USA, DHL and FedEx both raised their express surcharges from 9.5 per cent inSeptember to 10.5 per cent this month. UPS also went up to 11 per cent from 10.5 per cent inSeptember.
Customers in Asia Pacific also face higher bills in October. DHL raised its surcharge to 23per cent from 22 per cent last month. FedEx and UPS both increased to 19 per cent from 18 per centin September. TNT also raised its surcharge for Asia and the Middle East to 20 per cent from 19.5per cent last month.
These increases reflect the rising oil price since June which is likely to remain high inthe near future. Compared to last month, Brent crude remained fairly stable trading at $111.28 thismorning. It has risen from around the $100 mark at the end of June and experienced a major hike inthe end of August rising to $120. WTI crude showed a slight downward trend in October though,dropping to $102.02 a barrel, compared to over $110 in the beginning of September.
The air express fuel surcharges for October reflect the oil price level two months ago. Thefour integrators calculate their surcharges based on indices showing the previous month’s oil pricelevel and announce them in advance for the following month. This results in a two-month time lagbetween the fuel price and surcharge change.
