jfchandler Posted January 2, 2011 Share Posted January 2, 2011 I got a notice from one of my U.S.-based mail forwarding companies the other day about a supposed rate increase by all the major express couriers starting with 2011. According to the notice I got, FedEx, DHL and UPS at least will begin using a new formula to calculate DIM (dimensional weight) for their shipments, a more expensive one, of course. Here's the notice I got from my mail forwarding provider: I went to the FedEx web site for starters, to see if I could find any reference to this... I didn't find any quick reference to a DIM rate change, but quickly saw info on FedEx increasing their prices seemingly pretty much across the board with the start of the new year. See the following from FedEx: http://www.fedex.com...es.html#express If anyone knows more about this change with DIM, please chime in... I've always been confused about the DIM thing... I always thought I paid for shipments based on their weight... as long as they didn't exceed certain dimension limits for a particular category of package or mailing. So how does the DIM deal figure into it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TravelerEastWest Posted January 2, 2011 Share Posted January 2, 2011 "I always thought I paid for shipments based on their weight" You do - standard actual weight or dimensional weight whichever is higher. So for example a light weight shipment of widgets would actually be less expensive by actual weight so dimensional weight is used. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tombkk Posted January 2, 2011 Share Posted January 2, 2011 (edited) I haven't heard about any dimensional changes effective this year (2011). In airfreight, the formula is: LxWxH in centimeters, and divide that by 6000 on your calculator. What you now see is the "volume weight", as opposed to the "actual weight" (a.k.a. "gross weight"). The "chargeable weight" (i.e. what you pay for), is the higher of the two. We have a contract with DHL and didn't get a notification that the weight/volume ratio will change. Will check after the holidays. Of course, the rates and surcharges keep changing, that's normal. But not the weight/volume ratio though. Edited January 2, 2011 by tombkk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jfchandler Posted January 2, 2011 Author Share Posted January 2, 2011 Tom, if you look at the notice attachment posted above that I received from my mail shipper in the USA, you'll see the notice specifically says FedEx, DHL and UPS are changing the way they calculate DIM to make it more expensive for the customer. That notice came from my mail forwarder, not any of the Big 3 direct... So, either my mail forwarder is lying, which I would tend to doubt since they're a big and established company, or something's afoot with the Big 3... I don't know which is correct. But I'd sure like to find out what the heck is going on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jfchandler Posted January 2, 2011 Author Share Posted January 2, 2011 Found this just now... November 3, 2010 UPS joins FedEx in changing "dim weight" formula Shippers of low-density packages could end up paying more for service. UPS Inc., like its rival FedEx Corp., is telling shippers to shape up their packaging or pay more for shipping. In a move that was expected, UPS said it would reduce its "volumetric divisor," which is used to calculate the amount of space allocated to a shipment. The result is that shippers will be allowed less cubic space for the same shipment weight at current prices. Shippers whose packages fall outside the new physical parameters because they can't shrink their shipment's cubic dimensions or add more weight to their shipments will pay as much as 17 percent more for domestic services and 19 percent for U.S. export services, according to a research note from analysts at JPMorgan Chase. FedEx announced similar measures on Sept. 28. The full article is posted here.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tombkk Posted January 2, 2011 Share Posted January 2, 2011 Tom, if you look at the notice attachment posted above that I received from my mail shipper in the USA, you'll see the notice specifically says FedEx, DHL and UPS are changing the way they calculate DIM to make it more expensive for the customer. That notice came from my mail forwarder, not any of the Big 3 direct... So, either my mail forwarder is lying, which I would tend to doubt since they're a big and established company, or something's afoot with the Big 3... I don't know which is correct. But I'd sure like to find out what the heck is going on. Let's find out together once the holidays are over. I will be on a business trip from tomorrow until next Saturday and am not sure whether I will have access to this forum during my absence, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jfchandler Posted January 2, 2011 Author Share Posted January 2, 2011 The news article I posted above pretty well confirms it... But the article from last November only talks about FedEx and UPS... I'm assuming DHL joined the parade somewhere along the line.... Obviously, the note from my mail forwarding company was based in some reality.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tombkk Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 Tom, if you look at the notice attachment posted above that I received from my mail shipper in the USA, you'll see the notice specifically says FedEx, DHL and UPS are changing the way they calculate DIM to make it more expensive for the customer. That notice came from my mail forwarder, not any of the Big 3 direct... So, either my mail forwarder is lying, which I would tend to doubt since they're a big and established company, or something's afoot with the Big 3... I don't know which is correct. But I'd sure like to find out what the heck is going on. Let's find out together once the holidays are over. I will be on a business trip from tomorrow until next Saturday and am not sure whether I will have access to this forum during my absence, though. I checked with my staff and this is true: The weight/volume ratio has changed from 1:6 to 1:5. This means that any shipment for which the volume in sq.m. divided by five is higher that the weight in metric tons, will be charged by volume. For who this is technical babble, please note that we used to divide by six, so it's signifanct for a lot of cargo. On a side note: Our contract is with DHL, and my staff have known about this since November. I think I should get more involved in the daily business... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jfchandler Posted January 10, 2011 Author Share Posted January 10, 2011 Glad to hear the boss is on top of things...and not just relying on random reports that arrive via Thai Visa... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CWMcMurray Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 just as an fyi... This is only for courier shipments. If sent via traditional Air Freight the volume weight remains unchanged. L x W x H (in) / 366 L x W x H (cm) / 6000 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tombkk Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 Glad to hear the boss is on top of things...and not just relying on random reports that arrive via Thai Visa... I heard that! ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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