USPS have announced USPS price hike that will “affect dimensional weight pricing” for Priority Mail, Priority Mail Express and Parcel Select Ground in the US, reported stamps.com. This means that parcels will be subjects to higher rates concerning their size rather their weight. USPS say that the update will come into effect on the 23rd of June.
The move will see marketplace sellers’ pockets impacted, depending on which services they’re using and how far their deliveries are going.
What is dimensional weight?
Dimensional weight reflects package density, which is the amount of space a package occupies on a delivery vehicle concerning its weight. Space is vital for shipping carriers since they want to keep costs low by filling their delivery trucks with as many packages as possible.
Dimensional weight can be calculated using the formula
- DIM Weight = (length x width x height)/DIM Divisor
DIM divisor will decrease
USPS say that the DIM divisor will decrease from 194 to 166. This means packages greater than one cubic foot will have a higher billable weight. To put this in perspective, a sample package with the dimensions 16” x 14” x 12” going to Zone 4 via Priority Mail would cost under the new changes $20.35. Here is how it’s calculated below.
Old DIM Divisor
The dimensional weight formula can determine the package’s billable weight under the old Dim divisor.
- (16” x 14” x 12”)/194
- (2688 cubic inches)/194 = 13.85 lbs.
- The USPS Priority Mail Rate for this package would be $17.57
New DIM divisor
Using the same formula, but with the new divisor, the billable weight is now higher.
- (16” x 14” x 12”)/166
- (2688 cubic inches)/166 = 16.19 lbs.
- The USPS Priority Mail Rate for this package would be $20.35. That’s a $2.78 increase.
DIM weight pricing will be applied to new zones
USPS say that the DIM weight pricing is currently only applied to zones 5-9 within select mail classes in the US. The USPS will expand the list of zones in which DIM weight pricing is applied from the 23rd of June.
Priority Mail
- DIM weight pricing will be expanded to include zones 1-4 for packages over one cubic foot. The DIM Weight Pricing currently only applies to zones 5-9 for packages over one cubic foot.
Priority Mail Express
- DIM weight pricing will be applied to packages over one cubic foot for zones 1-9. The DIM Weight Pricing is currently not applied to Priority Mail Express.
Parcel Select Ground
- DIM weight pricing will be applied to packages over one cubic foot for zones 1-9. The DIM weight pricing is currently not applied to Parcel Select Ground.
