Peak season isn’t one date. It’s eleven of them, spread across five carriers between late September and mid-January, and they don’t line up. A parcel you ship on October 20 costs something different from the identical parcel on October 27 — not because anything changed about the parcel, but because a window opened in between. Here is every date, in order.
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The first surcharge window of the 2026–27 season opens September 21 and the last closes January 17, 2027. Handling and oversize fees start first — OnTrac on September 26, UPS on September 27, FedEx on September 28 — because carriers want awkward parcels out of the network before volume arrives. Per-package fees start a month later: OnTrac October 24, UPS and Amazon Shipping October 25, FedEx October 26. USPS is the exception: one flat increase across all its affected services on October 4, with no tiered escalation by date. Peak-of-peak runs November 22 to December 27 at every carrier that uses windows. If you can pull shipments forward, the cheapest week of the season is the one before September 21 — and after that, every week before October 24 beats every week after it.
The Full Calendar, in Order
| Date | Carrier | What starts |
|---|---|---|
| Sept 21, 2026 | FedEx | Schedule revision: demand surcharge adjusted on US international services · non-standard fees extended to Express international packages · Ground Unauthorized Package Charge renamed Demand Unauthorized Charge (amounts unchanged) |
| Sept 26, 2026 | OnTrac | Additional Handling $11.00 · Large Package $110.00 · Over Max $595.00 · Unauthorized $595.00 |
| Sept 27, 2026 | UPS | Additional Handling $8.75 · Large Package $96.25 · Over Maximum $530 · Surge Emergency Fees begin |
| Sept 28, 2026 | FedEx | Additional Handling $8.80 · Oversize $95.75 · Unauthorized $535 |
| Oct 4, 2026 | USPS | Holiday prices: +$0.40 to +$18.20 per package by service, weight and zone — one flat window, no tiered escalation |
| Oct 24, 2026 | OnTrac | Demand Residential $1.00 per package |
| Oct 25, 2026 | UPS · Amazon Shipping | Per-package demand fees: Ground Residential and Ground Saver $0.50 · Air $1.35 · (identical at both carriers) |
| Oct 26, 2026 | FedEx | Per-package demand fees: Ground Residential $0.50 · Ground Economy $2.55 · Express $1.20–$2.55 |
| Nov 22, 2026 | UPS · Amazon Shipping | Peak-of-peak begins: residential $0.75 · Air $2.50 · Additional Handling $11.90 · Large Package $117.50 · Over Max $590 |
| Nov 23, 2026 | FedEx | Peak-of-peak begins: residential $0.80 · Ground Economy $4.05 · Additional Handling $11.85 · Oversize $117.25 |
| Dec 26–27, 2026 | All | Peak-of-peak ends — UPS and Amazon Shipping on the 26th, FedEx on the 27th. Rates drop back to shoulder levels |
| Jan 15–17, 2027 | All | Windows close: OnTrac Jan 15 · UPS and Amazon Shipping Jan 16 · USPS and FedEx Jan 17 |
UPS, FedEx, USPS and OnTrac amounts read from carrier-published schedules and the USPS filing of August 25, 2026. Amazon Shipping figures are secondary — its shipping news page blocks automated access, so these come from four independent analyses published between September 6 and 17, all in agreement. Verified September 17, 2026; carriers do revise mid-season, as FedEx did on September 21.
Why the Dates Are Staggered
The sequence isn’t arbitrary, and understanding it tells you what each fee is for.
Handling and oversize fees come first, in late September, roughly two months before volume peaks. They aren’t revenue measures so much as behavioural ones: an oversized parcel occupies space and slows sorting, and the carrier would rather you reconfigure your packaging in October than jam the network in December. That’s also why they rose only around 10% year over year while other fees rose far more — they’re already high enough to change behaviour.
Per-package fees come a month later, in late October, and they apply to ordinary residential parcels. These are revenue measures, and they’re where this year’s increase concentrated: flat per-package fees rose 22–25% year over year while handling and oversize rose 6–10%. If your parcels are small, light and going to homes, the October 24–26 window matters far more to you than the September one.
USPS does none of this. One increase, October 4, flat across the whole window, no escalation by date. It’s harder to game and easier to budget — and combined with USPS charging no residential surcharge at all, it makes the USPS calendar the simplest of the five by a wide margin.
What the Calendar Changes About Your Planning
Three practical consequences follow from the dates.
There is a cheapest week, and it’s now. Every week before September 21 is free of 2026–27 surcharges entirely. After that, every week before October 24 avoids the per-package fees. If you hold inventory that will ship regardless — B2B orders, wholesale, pre-orders, restocking a 3PL — pulling those shipments forward is the single highest-return move available, and it requires nothing but scheduling.
The parcel you ship doesn’t change; the week does. An identical box to an identical address costs three different amounts on October 20, October 27 and November 25. Any cost model built on a single month’s invoice will mislead you for the rest of the season.
And the fees stack on whatever tier you buy at. A percentage increase on retail pricing costs more than the same percentage on commercial pricing — which is why the season amplifies a gap that exists all year. Our rate compilation measures that gap at 35–50% per label.
Which tier are you paying these on?
Every surcharge above applies on top of your base rate. Run the free shipping audit — volume, package size, destination — and see the gap between your current setup and commercial-tier pricing before the windows open. No signup needed.
Run Your Free Audit →What Hasn’t Been Published Yet
Three things are missing from this calendar, and we’d rather say so than guess.
UPS’s 2027 general rate increase. Historically announced in mid-September; nothing had been published as of September 17. FedEx’s has a confirmed date — January 4, 2027 — but no published percentage.
Regional carrier schedules. Veho, Better Trucks and DHL eCommerce had published no 2026–27 US peak schedule. That means unpublished, not absent — if you ship with them, ask directly rather than assuming no surcharge applies.
The final USPS amounts. The October 4 prices were filed under Postal Regulatory Commission docket CP2026-10. A procedural order established the docket on August 28 and closed comments on September 4, with no merits ruling by mid-September. Competitive products aren’t gated the way market-dominant rates are, so “filed” here is closer to “scheduled” than “uncertain” — but the amounts could still move.
We’ll update this page as each is published. It was last verified against every carrier source on September 17, 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
When do peak season surcharges start in 2026?
The first window opens September 21 with a FedEx schedule revision. Handling and oversize fees begin September 26 at OnTrac, September 27 at UPS and September 28 at FedEx. Per-package fees begin a month later: October 24 at OnTrac, October 25 at UPS and Amazon Shipping, October 26 at FedEx. USPS applies one flat increase on October 4.
When do peak season surcharges end?
Between January 15 and 17, 2027 — OnTrac on the 15th, UPS and Amazon Shipping on the 16th, USPS and FedEx on the 17th. Peak-of-peak rates end earlier, on December 26 at UPS and Amazon Shipping and December 27 at FedEx, after which rates drop back to shoulder levels for roughly three weeks.
What is peak-of-peak?
The highest-rate window of the season, running November 22 to December 26 or 27 depending on carrier. Residential per-package fees rise from $0.50 to $0.75 at UPS and Amazon Shipping and to $0.80 at FedEx; Additional Handling goes from $8.75 to $11.90; Large Package from $96.25 to $117.50. Shipments in this window cost the most of any time of year.
Does USPS have peak season surcharges?
Not in the same form. USPS applies a single temporary price increase from October 4 to January 17 rather than tiered per-package surcharges, and it charges no residential surcharge at all — unlike UPS at $6.50 and FedEx at $6.45 per parcel. That makes the USPS calendar the simplest of the five and its total seasonal cost structure meaningfully different. The full carrier comparison.
When is the cheapest time to ship this season?
Before September 21, when no 2026–27 surcharge applies at all. After that, before October 24, which avoids the per-package fees. If you have shipments that will happen regardless — wholesale, pre-orders, restocking a 3PL — moving them forward costs nothing and avoids fees entirely.
Do Amazon Shipping’s surcharges differ from UPS?
No — they’re identical to the cent on every line and in every window. Per-package $0.50/$0.75/$0.50, Additional Handling $8.75/$11.90/$8.75, Large Package $96.25/$117.50/$96.25, Extra-Heavy $530/$590/$530, with the same October 25 to January 16 window. On seasonal surcharges alone there is nothing to compare between the two.