What FedEx just announced
Effective June 22, 2026, FedEx consolidated its separate international export and import fuel surcharge tables into one unified fuel table for international air services. The change does not apply to FedEx International Ground.
For U.S. shippers, the impact is uneven:
Export shipments: Fuel costs increase by approximately 3.5% on average.
Import shipments: Fuel costs decrease by approximately 0.75% on average.
Balanced import/export profiles: The net impact depends on shipment mix, service type, lane, and transportation charges.
The new table is generally aligned closer to the prior, higher export fuel-surcharge structure. In practical terms, FedEx has removed the separate export/import fuel treatment and applied one shared schedule across both air flows.
What Changed
Under the prior structure, FedEx applied separate fuel-surcharge tables for international exports and imports. At the same jet-fuel price, the percentages could differ substantially.
For example, at a U.S. Gulf Coast jet-fuel price of $3.31–$3.35 per gallon:
For an export-focused shipper, that can mean roughly $35 more in fuel charges for every $1,000 of fuel-applicable transportation charges at that fuel-price band.
FedEx has also stated that the new table will extend using the same pattern when U.S. Gulf Coast jet-fuel prices fall below or rise above the published range.
Why It Matters
This is not simply a minor fuel-table adjustment. It is another midyear international price action following FedEx’s May 2026 international fuel-surcharge changes and the 2026 General Rate Increase.
For export-heavy shippers, the combined effect can be meaningful:
Fuel is assessed as a percentage of eligible transportation charges, so the dollar impact rises with higher-value express shipments and longer-distance international movements.
The new export fuel cost is layered on top of base-rate increases, minimum charges, and other accessorial changes.
A unified table can make international pricing easier for FedEx to administer, but it may also reduce visibility into the differing economics of import versus export fuel treatment.
Import-heavy shippers receive modest relief from this specific change, but that reduction may not offset earlier rate and surcharge increases.
What Shippers Should Do
Model the real impact. Apply the prior export/import schedules and the new unified schedule to the last three to six months of international air shipments. Evaluate the variance by lane, service, customer, and total spend.
Review fuel language in your FedEx agreement. Determine whether your contract automatically adopts FedEx’s published fuel tables or includes negotiated caps, offsets, exclusions, or service-specific modifications.
Find offsets in the broader agreement. For export-heavy shippers, relief may be available through minimum-charge reductions, improved base discounts, dimensional-weight terms, surcharge concessions, or revised earned-discount tiers.
Test alternative options. For high-volume lanes, compare total landed cost—not only base rates—across alternative carriers, international consolidators, and service levels.
How ShipTrim Can Help
ShipTrim can model this change against actual shipment data to show the precise cost impact by lane, service, and customer. That analysis creates a fact-based position for carrier discussions and identifies whether the best response is a targeted FedEx negotiation, a contract offset, or a broader international carrier strategy.
The key question is not whether FedEx raised a fuel table—it is how much this specific change will cost your business based on your export/import mix. Is your FedEx international air volume primarily outbound from the U.S., inbound to the U.S., or relatively balanced?
