Fuel surcharges for international air express shipments will increase or remain at the same level in April after two months of continuous decline, CEP- Research analysis has shown.
In Europe, FedEx’s surcharge went up from 5.5% in March to 6% this month. Similarly, UPS raised its surcharge to 8.5% in April, down from 8.25% last month. The DHL surcharge also increased from 7.75% in March to 8.25% in April. However, TNT’s European remained at last month’s level of 11.5% this month as well.
In the USA, all the integrators kept their surcharges at the last month’s levels. FedEx and DHL both kept their April surcharge at 0% for a second month in a row. TNT kept its US surcharge in April at the level of the last five months of 6%. The UPS surcharge also remained at the March level of 2.25% this month.
In Asia Pacific, all the four integrators raised their surcharges this month. FedEx surcharge increased from 2.5% in March to 3% in April. The UPS surcharge also increased to 6.25% this month, up from 5.75% in March. Similarly, DHL also put up its Asia surcharge from 7.75% last month to 8.25% in April, which was also the case with its European surcharge. TNT’s Asia surcharge also increased from 11.25% in March to 11.5% this month.
Global oil prices have showed continuous ups and downs over the last month with a slight upward tendency. WTI crude traded at $38.34 yesterday at the end of the day, up from nearly $35 a month ago. Brent crude also showed strong ups and downs trading at $39.60 yesterday at the end of the day, up from around $36 a month ago. While oil prices are now above their 2016 lows, these figures are extremely low compared to July 2014 when Brent crude traded at $115 and WTI crude above $103.
Oil prices fell today kicking off the second quarter of the year with declines as skepticism is growing that a deal to freeze crude production can help stop the global oversupplies in crude oil. According to Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia will only freeze its oil output if Iran and other major producers do so, he told Bloomberg in an interview.
Oil prices are additionally impacted by the recent report that output from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) rose in March to 32.47 million barrels a day. It is the latest sign that the global oil market remains oversupplied. The world’s big oil producers are due to meet in Qatar later this month to discuss the prospect of a production freeze at January levels.
The air express fuel surcharges in April 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.
