PEAK SEASON SURCHARGES FOR LOGISTICS -- A CONTRARIAN VIEW

Peak Season Surcharges for Logistics -- A Contrarian View

FedEx announced its plans for holiday surcharges. There is discussion on how they compare and what it means for retailers. And especially since we do not know what is in the contracts of their customers as to surcharges.

But there are other questions when it comes to peak season surcharges, no matter the carrier or mode. Before these are listed, one other comment with regards to FedEx and UPS. They are riding a bounty of shipping activity, a gravy train, that they did not create. It came from the e-commerce and what Amazon began. These carriers had been more into B2B shipping than B2C until online sales surged.--

• Why do we accept the premise that logistics providers need and are "entitled" to peak season surcharges?
• Do retailers charge higher prices for holiday sales? They do not? Why? To sell more. So are these carriers doing it? To exploit a situation?
• If they want extra--surcharges--for peak times, why don't they offer reverse surcharges--discounts--for slack periods?

An interesting item with FedEx is the surcharge for unauthorized packages. If they are unauthorized, how can there be a surcharge?

Responses welcome.