In the income statement of an ecommerce business, shipping cost is one of the most unstable items. The rate agreed at the beginning of the year is only the starting point: on top of it come surcharges that change every month, others that only apply in certain weeks and others still linked to a single delivery. In autumn the phenomenon is amplified, because couriers activate peak surcharges precisely when volumes grow and promotions reduce the margin per order. Those who manage shipments with a multi-carrier smart delivery platform have additional tools to contain the effect, but the first step is to understand precisely what the carrier's invoice is made up of.
What the shipping cost of an ecommerce business is made up of
A shipment costs the sum of three levels: the base rate, the general surcharges that apply to all shipments in a given period, and the accessorial surcharges linked to the characteristics of the individual parcel. The problem is that quotes and comparisons between carriers almost always look only at the first level.
Base rate, actual weight and volumetric weight
The base rate depends on the service chosen, the destination zone and the chargeable weight. The chargeable weight is the greater of the actual weight and the volumetric weight, calculated by multiplying the dimensions of the parcel and dividing by a coefficient set by the courier. For light and bulky products, such as cushions, padded clothing or gift boxes, it is almost always the volume that determines the price. A box larger than necessary is paid for twice: in material and in transport.
Accessorial surcharges: remote areas, oversized parcels, delivery to the floor
Then there are surcharges linked to the individual parcel or the individual delivery. Remote or hard-to-reach areas, such as minor islands, limited traffic historic centres and mountain locations, often carry a surcharge. Oversized or non-standard parcels, due to shape or weight, pay extra for handling. Ecommerce delivery services such as delivery to the floor, cash on delivery, delivery by appointment or storage after a failed delivery have their own price. Taken one by one they seem marginal; across thousands of shipments a month they become a significant part of shipping costs, which is why they need to be read on the invoice and not just in the price list.
2026 peak season surcharges
Alongside accessorial surcharges, there are those that depend on the period. The best known is the fuel surcharge, i.e. the fuel supplement: a variable percentage applied to the transport rate, updated periodically according to fuel price trends. Each courier has its own table and its own update frequency, and some publish it on their website. In the peak months, another item is added to this one.
Demand surcharge and surge fee: what they are and when they apply
The demand surcharge, also called surge fee or demand supplement, is a temporary surcharge that couriers apply when demand for capacity exceeds the normal availability of the network. In 2026 UPS announced for Italy the application of an emergency surcharge and a demand surcharge on certain services starting from 6 September. DHL Express activated the demand surcharge on time definite international shipments from 1 October 2026 to 5 February 2027, specifying that amounts and dates may vary during the period and that the fuel surcharge also applies on top of this item. The exact amounts change by route and service and should be checked on your own price list.
National couriers: surcharges defined by contract
For the national couriers most used by Italian ecommerce businesses, the picture is less transparent: peak surcharges, application windows and volume thresholds are usually defined in individual contracts and not in a public price list. The risk is discovering them on the invoice in January. It is worth asking in writing, as early as October, whether and which surcharges will be applied in the weeks of Black Friday and Christmas, on which services and with which calculation.
Multi-carrier shipping under control
The role of a multi-carrier platform
When courier rates change during the year and each carrier applies different surcharges, choosing the courier once and for all means accepting that part of the shipments will always travel at the wrong price. Working with several carriers, on the other hand, makes it possible to assign each order based on its characteristics: weight, dimensions, destination, service requested by the customer. A simple rule, such as moving bulky parcels to the carrier with the most favourable volumetric coefficient or remote areas to the one with the lowest surcharge, has an effect that adds up on every shipment.
However, a courier comparison only works if it is based on real data and not on price lists: actual cost by area and weight band, surcharges applied on the invoice, delays and failed deliveries. A multi-carrier shipping management software serves precisely to gather these numbers in a single place. For those who currently work with a single carrier, the move from single-carrier to multi-carrier requires a few months of preparation and is a project to start in January, not in November.
In the Bonprix case , automatic courier assignment led to a 17% reduction in shipping costs: a result achieved in that specific case, which depends on volumes, destination mix and contracts.
There are also levers on the product and packaging side. Reducing empty space in parcels lowers volumetric weight, and an ecommerce logistics provider that manages warehouse, packing and shipping together can work on box formats knowing exactly how much every extra centimetre costs.
What to ask your logistics partner before renewing 2027 contracts
The end of the peak is when many courier contracts are renegotiated, and therefore the time to arrive prepared. The questions to ask, to the carrier or to the logistics partner that manages shipments, concern transparency first of all: how the fuel surcharge is calculated and how often it changes, in which windows peak surcharges apply and whether there are volume thresholds that trigger different bands, and which volumetric coefficient is used for each service.