DSCP Smart Fulfillment Warns on Holiday Peak Fees Ignoring Warehouse Zones

New Brunswick, NJ, Sept. 16, 2026 /CourierPR/ -- A third-party logistics and e-commerce fulfillment company, DSCP Smart Fulfillment, has highlighted a significant change in the holiday demand surcharge schedules published by UPS and FedEx. According to the carriers, the surcharges apply flat per package, regardless of shipping distance, contradicting the common assumption that moving inventory closer to customers reduces peak season fees.

UPS and FedEx have set their 2026 holiday demand surcharge schedules. UPS applies a demand surcharge to additional handling and large packages from September 27, 2026, at $8.75 per package, rising to $11.90 between November 22 and December 26. The Large Package Surcharge rises from $96.25 to $117.50 during the same period. FedEx begins September 28 with a Demand Additional Handling at $8.80, rising to $11.85, and Demand Oversize at $95.75, rising to $117.25. Ground residential demand surcharges follow on October 25 for UPS and October 26 for FedEx.

DSCP Smart Fulfillment, which operates fulfillment centers in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and Pomona, California, notes that the surcharges are not influenced by shipping zones. A package traveling one state incurs the same demand fee as one crossing the country. The company explains that while inventory placement still reduces base transportation rates and transit days, it does not affect these particular fees. Brands that budget based on the assumption that a closer warehouse cancels the surcharge are planning against the wrong line item.

The surcharges are also influenced by volume. Both carriers run a higher schedule for shippers exceeding roughly 20,000 residential packages in a week, reaching $8.00 per ground package. FedEx sets this threshold weekly against a June 2026 baseline with a two-week lag between the measured week and the billed week. UPS states it applies to customers billed above that threshold in any week following October 2025.

DSCP Smart Fulfillment's Business Development Manager, Sackod Diadie, emphasized the importance of considering both inventory placement and surcharges. "The fees that climb the fastest are attached to the carton, not the destination. A gift set that adds two inches to the box can cost more per parcel than the distance it travels. We measure the finished holiday configuration with clients in September, because in November the only thing left to do is pay it."

The company advises brands to confirm steady demand before committing to US warehouse stocking, aligning peak configuration reviews with the same timing decision. DSCP Smart Fulfillment operates a 3PL warehouse network across New Jersey and California, placing inventory within 2 to 4-day ground reach of approximately 80 percent of the United States, with remaining areas reached in 4 to 5 days. Services include inbound receiving, racked and barcoded storage, pick and pack, kitting and assembly, custom packaging, returns processing, and international outbound shipping to more than 150 countries. The company maintains a 99.9 percent fulfillment accuracy rate.