On April 3rd, it was reported that Amazon will impose a 3.5% fuel surcharge on independent merchants on its platform later this month, which may lead to higher prices for consumers. This temporary fee will take effect on April 17th and apply to most sellers who use Amazon's Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) service for storing inventory and shipping orders. As energy costs continue to rise, the e-commerce giant has become the latest company to impose a surcharge to offset rising costs.

Starting from April 17th, Amazon's fuel and logistics-related surcharge will apply to sellers in the United States and Canada who use Amazon's delivery (FBA); sellers using Prime Express and multi-channel delivery services will be charged from May 2nd. Amazon said that, on average, sellers using FBA services will have to pay an additional about 17 cents per item, and the specific amount will vary depending on the size of the product.

Amazon stated that it had previously been bearing the rising costs of fuel and logistics on its own. A company spokesman said: "Like other major courier companies, when costs remain high, we will implement a temporary surcharge to partially offset these costs." Amazon did not say when the fuel surcharge would end.

Amazon has about 2 million sellers on its global platform. The company said that its surcharge rate is "significantly lower than other major courier companies", and the billing base is the delivery fee of third-party merchants, not the product selling price. FedEx and UPS adjust their fuel surcharges weekly based on the prices announced by the US Department of Energy.

UPS and FedEx have also recently raised their fuel surcharges due to rising oil prices. Last week, the United States Postal Service (USPS) even announced that it would impose an 8% fuel surcharge on parcel services to cope with rising energy and transportation costs. This is the first time in USPS history that a fuel surcharge has been imposed on parcels. According to the plan, the surcharge will officially take effect on April 26th and last until January 17th, 2027, spanning nearly nine months.

Source: E-commerce Dispatch