Federal Express announced 6.9% rate increase and a 2% reduction in the fuel surcharge, resulting in a net increase of 4.9%, according to Parcel Magazine. Last year FedEx announced its increase in late-October and the year before the announcement was made in early-November.

Traditionally, UPS had been the leader in announcing annual increases. Starting in 2006, FedEx broke with tradition and was the first to announce their changes in express pricing. UPS then made public their intentions on both ground and air, followed by FedEx matching UPS ground increase. This has been the pattern for the past three years and it may happen again for 2009.

In 2006, FedEx announced a net increase of 3.5%; in 2007 it was 3.5%, while last year it jumped to 4.9%, the same as this years announced net increase. However, the actual increase in standard list rates for select weight levels can vary from 2.0% up to 9.5% depending on service level and the weight/zone combination.