Fuel surcharges for international air express shipments continued to rise in July with one exception, CEP-Research analysis has shown.
In the USA, DHL Express again left its surcharge unchanged at the exceptional 0% level, for the sixth month in a row. The FedEx surcharge further increased to 4% in July, up from 3% in June and a very low level of 2.5% in May. The UPS surcharge also rose to 5.25% this month, up from 4.5% in June. The TNT surcharge in the USA went up from 5% in June to 6% in July.
In Europe, all the integrators raised their surcharges this month. UPS and FedEx surcharges increased to 12.25% and 12% respectively, up from 11.5% in June for both companies. DHL’s European surcharge rose even more strongly to 13.5% in July, up from 12% in June and 11% in May. TNT also raised its European surcharge to 15.25%, up from 14.5% in June and 14.25% in May.
In Asia Pacific, all the four integrators raised their surcharges as well. The FedEx surcharge went up from 10% in June to 11% this month. The UPS surcharge which was at the 10.25% level last month went up to 11.5% in July. The DHL surcharge rose from 12% to 13.5% this month, in the same way as the company’s surcharge in Europe. TNT’s Asian surcharge increased from 14.5% last month to 15% in July.
Global oil prices showed a rather downward trend over the last month. WTI crude fell to $52.53 this morning, down from nearly $60 a month ago. Similarly, Brent crude also went down to $56.54m, compared to nearly $64 a month ago. These figures are still very low compared to July 2014 when Brent crude traded at $115 and WTI crude above $103.
Oil rose on Tuesday after one of its biggest selloffs this year but the outlook remains rather weak after China’s stock markets fell again and Greece moved closer to leaving the eurozone. Another factor is that a compromise could be reached during the ongoing talks in Vienna over Iran’s nuclear programme. This, in turn, could end sanctions against the country and lead to increased exports of Iranian crude at a time of global oversupply.
The air express fuel surcharges for July reflect the respective oil price levels two months ago. The four integrators calculate their surcharges based on indices showing the previous month’s oil price level and announce them in advance for the following month. This results in a two-month time lag between the fuel price and surcharge change.
