You’re not alone.

Ecommerce brands have to navigate various shipping industry challenges and changes, from rate changes to delivery disruptions. The right tools can help you future-proof your business to reduce costs, grow your operations, and keep your customers happy. 

From carrier diversification strategies that give you more control over each delivery by letting you choose the right carrier service for each order to automated rate comparison tools that let you compare carriers’ real-time shipping costs, learn how ShipStation API solves shipping challenges.

Top Shipping Industry Challenges

Whether your business averages 1,000 or 10,000 shipments per month, shipping orders has its fair share of obstacles. Are you prepared for potential service disruptions? Have you accounted for seasonal pricing changes and surcharges? The shipping ecosystem is always changing, and understanding these challenges helps you anticipate setbacks and manage costs effectively.

Shipping Disruptions

Shipments can be delayed due to supply chain issues, natural disasters, human or technological errors, and even shifting political landscapes. Your business may be able to prepare for some setbacks by monitoring market changes and potential weather risks, but many shipping disruptions are unpredictable. 

Dynamic Pricing and Rate Changes

Most carriers use dynamic pricing models that fluctuate rates based on real-time variables, including:

• Shipping speed
• Shipping demand
• Market changes
• Shipment volume
• Distance and fuel
• Other operational costs

These factors can cause your shipment costs to vary across orders and different periods. They can also cause your most profitable carrier to change overnight, which means you might not know if you’re getting the best available rate.

Holiday Surcharges

Carriers implement seasonal and holiday surcharges due to the massive increases in shipments. The surcharges tend to increase every year, with some carriers charging holiday rates as early as September in 2024. This means you must account for higher seasonal costs for at least four months per year. 

Service Changes

Carriers may also change other aspects of their services, such as shortening or extending their delivery periods. Some carriers may also make behind-the-scenes operational changes that affect the quality of shipments without you noticing, resulting in lost, delayed, or damaged packages, and your customers might attribute these issues to your business instead of the carrier.

These service changes may require you to evaluate your shipping strategy to maintain quality and profitability. However, switching carriers can be time-consuming without easy access to other carriers’ rates, and it requires you to pay constant attention to the ever-changing shipping landscape. 

Navigating the Carrier Ecosystem With Modernized Solutions

Once you know the most significant shipping industry challenges your business faces, you can take steps to prepare for them and reduce your costs. Adopting tools, strategies, and solutions gives you control over the ever-changing ecosystem so that these challenges don’t slow you down. With ShipStation API, you can compare different carriers, find the most affordable rates, and optimize costs to simplify shipping.

Multi-Carrier Strategies

Many businesses mitigate their shipping costs and increase flexibility by using multiple carriers for their services rather than just one. Carrier diversification strategies empower you to choose the ideal carrier based on price changes, carrier-specific disruptions, and each order’s unique delivery needs. 

You can also offer additional shipping options for your consumers based on which carriers you work with. For example, you could use a less expensive carrier for standard deliveries but use specialized carriers for international orders, holiday deliveries, or heavy and oversized packages. 

These strategies avoid the risk of one carrier monopolizing your shipping services. Rather than leaving your prices up to the whims of another company, you can strategically change carriers based on what’s best for your customers, which helps build customer loyalty. 

Rate Comparison Tools

The only way to know you’re getting the best rates from carriers is to compare the rates, but trying to do this manually eats up time. Shipping Rates API helps you select the most affordable shipping carrier based on your carrier specifications and each order’s unique needs. This lets you save money on every delivery without making the customer wait for you to decide on a carrier.

Cost-Optimization Techniques

You can save even more on shipping using the following cost-optimization techniques:

• Consolidated shipping: Order consolidation combines packages sent to nearby areas into a single shipment that’s unconsolidated later, such as at a distribution facility. For example, if you ship five orders to Orlando, you could package them together to reduce the cost of shipping five individual items with separate labels. 
• Effective packaging strategies: Customizing your packaging solutions or having a wide variety of available packaging options helps minimize the size and cost of each package. You can also save money by knowing different carriers’ dimension specifications and keeping your shipments within these limits.
• Negotiating with carriers: You may be able to negotiate lower shipping costs by contacting each carrier, especially when shipping in high volume. ShipStation API makes this a breeze with pre-negotiated shipping rates and discounts of up to 89%, so you know you’re getting the best price.
• Financial incentives: Using eco-friendly packaging materials and shipping practices can open you up to tax rebates and other financial incentives, such as Green Ship programs.

Discover How ShipStation API Solves Shipping Challenges

ShipStation API gives you effortless control over your shipment process so you can tackle the most common shipping industry challenges and scale your business. Save time and money as you scale your business by working with multiple carriers, automating shipments with rate comparison features, and monitoring updates with ShipStation API tracking. Get started today to learn how ShipStation API solves shipping challenges and minimizes your final costs. 

The post The Top Shipping Industry Challenges and How To Address Them appeared first on Shipstation API.

The United States Postal Service (USPS^®) typically adjusts its postage rates at least once a year, sometimes more often. At ShipEngine, we’re here to help keep you updated on these changes so you can effectively manage your shipping costs.

In this blog, we’ll break down the latest USPS rate updates and show how we help you stay informed and ahead of the curve.

The best part? We’re here to provide you with great savings on USPS shipping services. Even as rates change, we can help you save and get the most out of your shipping budget.

What are Rate Changes?

Many carriers, like USPS, periodically adjust their shipping rates. These changes are influenced by various factors, including fuel costs, inflation, and operational improvements. While these adjustments are necessary for carriers to remain competitive and sustainable, they can impact your shipping.

January 2025 Rate Changes

Starting January 19, 2025, USPS will implement several rate adjustments. Keep reading to learn more about these changes.

Peak Demand Surcharges are Ending

The USPS peak demand surcharges that started on October 6, 2024, to help manage the holiday shipping rush will end on January 19, 2025. Once they end, shipping prices will go back to “normal,” meaning the seasonal surcharges will no longer be added.

USPS Rate Changes

Specific service rates were adjusted by USPS on January 19, 2025. See how these changes will impact your USPS shipping rates on ShipEngine compared to Commercial Rates:

• Ground Advantage: Overall, rates decreased by about 0.5%, with savings up to $3.03 and discounts of up to 21.3% off Commercial Rates. However, some packages under one pound saw a slight increase of about 1.3%.
• Ground Advantage Cubic: Prices dropped by about 1.2%, offering savings of up to $1.69 and discounts of up to 20.5% off Commercial Rates.
• Priority Mail®: This service had the largest decrease, down about 5.7%, with some rates decreasing as much $10.50 and discounts of up to 24.6% off Commercial Rates.
• Priority Mail® Flats Rate: Rates decreased by about 1.7%, with savings of up to $1.30 in some areas and discounts of up to 5.4% off Commercial Rates.
• Priority Mail Cubic®: Prices went down by about 3.4%, offering savings of up to $4.88 in some areas and discounts of up to 19.1% off Commercial Rates.

USPS Rural ZIP Code Changes

In September 2024, USPS designated a specific list of rural ZIP Codes. The updated list, as of January 19, 2025, now reflects 12 fewer rural ZIP Codes than before, with some being removed and others added To find out if a specific ZIP Code is affected, contact our support team for help.

Retail and Commercial Price Changes

USPS announced updates to Retail and Commercial shipping rates, set to take effect on January 19, 2025. These adjustments are designed to keep USPS competitive while supporting revenue needs.

What Does this Mean for You?

Navigating frequent carrier rate changes can be challenging, but we’re here to make it easier. Our software provides tools and resources to help you stay on top of these updates while optimizing your shipping operations.

Here’s How We Help:

• Providing Resources: We’ll update this blog with USPS changes, so be sure to bookmark it for easy access.
• Offer Discounted Rates: Enjoy savings of up to 89% on USPS shipping, thanks to our partnership.
• Keep You Informed About the Industry: We’ll keep you updated on the ever-changing landscape of carriers, including topics like rate changes, demand surcharges, dynamic pricing, and other industry shifts.
• Streamline Your Fulfillment Process: From printing shipping labels to tools that help you make the best carrier decision for your business, we help simplify every step.

By partnering with ShipEngine, you can make informed decisions, avoid surprises, and maintain smooth shipping operations even as carrier rates evolve.

For more information, check out our Help Center. Stay ahead of the game and navigate the USPS rate changes with confidence!

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