- Amazon announces 3.5% fuel and logistics surcharge for customers in the US and nearby
- Two-stage approach introduces changes on April 17 and May 2
- It’s unclear whether the company plans to remove the surcharge when possible
Amazon has confirmed the introduction of a 3.5% fuel and logistics surcharge for sellers amid rising global fuel and shipping costs – and with sellers likely to pass on costs to buyers, it could mean your online shopping could get even more expensive.
The company said in an announcement that it has been forced to pass on these costs to sellers after absorbing them for so long.
“Similar to other major carriers, when costs remain elevated, we implement temporary surcharges on our fulfillment fees to recover a portion of the actual cost increases we are experiencing,” Amazon wrote.
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Iran war pushes up Amazon fuel and logistics costs
Though the impacts have been widely felt for a number of weeks, Amazon is still holding off for as long as it can, introducing the 3.5% surcharge with effect from April 17.
It will be applied to fulfillment fees across Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) in the US and Canada as well as to Remote Fulfillment with FBA from the US into Canada, Mexico, and Brazil.
Beginning May 2, Buy with Prime in the US and Multi-Channel Fulfillment (MCF) in the US and Canada will also be affected by the price hike.
The company also noted that the surcharge will be billed against the fulfillment cost of a product, not its sale price, thus it’s not always the most expensive products that will see the greatest increase by dollar value. “On average, this equates to $0.17 per unit for US FBA,” Amazon wrote.
While Amazon has linked the surcharge to the Iran war, nowhere in the notice does the company use the word ‘temporary’ – or any other word to that effect.
TechRadar Pro has asked the company whether the surcharge is likely to be removed once fuel costs stabilize, but we did not get an immediate response.
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