As package delivery giant UPS enacts its 2025 rate increases, consumers and businesses alike are preparing for the increased shipping costs. What many may not know is the way in which those higher shipping costs intersect with the ongoing issue of undelivered packages at a cost to all. Understanding that relationship and investigating solutions proactively is important to navigating the shifting tides of package delivery.
The Upcoming UPS Rate Increases of 2025
UPS, similar to other players in the logistics sector, continuously revises its charges to reflect operational expenses, fuel price movements, and investments in infrastructure. The rate hikes of 2025 are no different and are substantial.
- General Rate Increase (GRI): UPS stated an average net rate increase of 5.9% for its 2025 General Rate Increase (GRI), which will take effect on December 23, 2024 (Shipware, 2024). This follows FedEx's stated increase, again demonstrating a similar trend among major carriers.
- Surcharge Increases: While the GRI is a headline number, the actual effect usually occurs through the rise and change in surcharges. These have the potential to disproportionately burden shippers and consequently, consumers.
- Further Handling and Oversized Package Surcharges: These fees are experiencing great increases, averaging more than 26.5% for 2025 (Shipware, 2024). New fee calculation methods also took effect from August 17, 2025, no longer based on length plus girth, but also cubic dimensions and weight thresholds (UPS.com, Supply Chain Dive, 2025). Residential oversized packages may experience surcharges of up to $305.00 for Zone 7+ (UPS.com, 2025).
- Fuel Surcharges: These extremely volatile charges are weekly adjusted according to fuel prices and have had several increases since 2024. In July 2025, domestic fuel surcharges floated between 32-33% (UPS.com, 2025). These are added to nearly all packages.
- Remote Area Surcharge: There is now a Remote Area Surcharge on Ground Saver packages shipped to some ZIP codes, which may undermine cost savings for these light, non-priority shipments (Lojistic, 2025).
- Shipping Charge Correction Audit Fee: UPS will charge the higher of $1.65 per package subject to a correction or 12% of the sum of shipping charge corrections (Lojistic, 2025). This affects companies that send incorrect weight or dimension information.
- Zone Adjustments: UPS is updating zone assignments for certain origin/destination ZIP code pairs, directly affecting shipping rates, especially for longer hauls (Lojistic, 2025).
For companies, these changes translate into an expected double-digit cost increase after considering all surcharge hikes, several times higher than the reported 5.9% GRI (Shipware, 2024). These added costs necessarily filter down to consumers in higher shipping charges, product prices, or fewer free shipping opportunities.
The Hidden Costs of Missed Deliveries
The UPS rate increase is even more effective when paired with the widespread issue of failed deliveries. A missed delivery is not simply an annoyance; it's an expensive occurrence that results in a chain of adverse effects for consumers and businesses alike, usually resulting in extra carrier fees.
- Business Financial Penalties: Every unsuccessful delivery attempt incurs substantial financial penalties on e-commerce companies.
- Redelivery Fees: Although individual "redelivery fees" for residential locations are usually incorporated into more general surcharges, carriers still have incremental operational expenses (fuel, labor, wear-and-tear on the vehicles) associated with subsequent attempts (Dr. Prem Jagyasi, 2025). These expenses are absorbed or transferred.
- Increased Operational Costs: Undelivered packages are often returned to facilities, requiring repackaging, re-labeling, and additional storage, eroding profit margins (Dr. Prem Jagyasi, 2025). Experts estimate the average cost of a failed delivery incident for businesses can be around €15 (approximately $16 USD), encompassing these various hidden costs (GetTransport.com, 2025).
- Customer Service Strain: Support teams are overwhelmed with "Where's my order?" inquiries, diverting valuable resources and impacting productivity (Locate2u, 2025).
- Returns Processing Issues: In the event of a delivery exception resulting in a return, it raises inventory management issues and adds additional costs (LateShipment.com, 2025).
- Chargebacks and Fines to Vendors: Some platforms charge fees for late delivery, and contractual arrangements may be cancelled as a result of repeated failures (Dr. Prem Jagyasi, 2025).
- The Consumer's Cost: Though business incurs the immediate monetary costs, consumers are greatly impacted:
- Lost Time: Waiting for a package that never shows up, or having to go all the way to a far-off depot to pick it up, loses time.
- Package Loss: The most immediate and financially charged effect for consumers is package loss. When packages are lost , missed or left behind because of unsuccessful attempts, they are vulnerable to "porch pirates."
- Shocking Theft Statistics: Package thefts came out to 120.5 million in 2023, amounting to an estimated $16 billion in loss for Americans. The mean package value stolen was $132.78 (Capital One Shopping, 2025).
- Repeat Victimization: An unbelievable 79% of victims of package theft have lost over one parcel (Capital One Shopping, 2025).
- Urban Hotspots: Urban dwellers are disproportionately impacted, 35.9% more likely to be victims (Capital One Shopping, 2025). New York City alone experiences a projected 90,000 packages stolen or lost per day (NYC.gov), ranking it second in the country for lost orders (Stowfly data).
- Frustration and Loss of Trust: Ineffective deliveries result in serious customer discontent. A 2023 survey reported that 90% of customers state that the delivery experience significantly determines whether they will shop with a company again (Locate2u, 2025). One negative experience can cancel out weeks of good service and produce negative ratings, damaging brand reputation (Online Distribution, 2025).
- Environmental Impact: Every redelivery attempt contributes to the carbon footprint, a concern for environmentally friendly consumers and companies (FarEye, 2024).
Shared Reasons for Missed Deliveries (And How They Relate to UPS Increases)
The reasons for missed deliveries are complex:
- Recipient Unavailability: This is a leading reason. No one is present at home to accept a package (particularly when the package requires a signature or a driver bypasses a doorbell ring), and delivery is unsuccessful. This usually generates a second delivery, imposing the carrier's and shipper's added expenses that the rate increases attempt to offset.
- Incorrect/Incomplete Addresses: Typos, omitted apartment numbers, or ambiguous delivery instructions misdirect drivers, resulting in delays and redelivery attempts. The Shipping Charge Correction Audit Fee can directly address problems caused by the wrong shipment information (Lojistic, 2025).
- Restricted Access/Gated Communities: Many urban residences, particularly multi-unit buildings, have secure entrances requiring buzzers or access codes. If drivers cannot gain entry (often due to time pressure), packages are left unsecured or deliveries are failed. This necessitates costly redeliveries or customer pickups.
- Carrier Overload and Driver Fatigue: The number of packages (e.g., Manhattan's 2.4 million packages/day) overwhelming carrier networks creates undue stress. Drivers are subjected to unrealistic quota, resulting in hurried deliveries, missed tries, and packages left in exposed spots (Manhattan Borough President's Office, 2022). General rate increases and surcharges allow carriers to try to make up for the increased labor and operational expenses in such high-pressure environments.
- Inclement Weather/Vehicle Issues: Although less common, outside sources such as bad weather or breakdowns may also result in delays and abortive attempts, again resulting in redelivery charges.
Alternative Options for Package Delivery
Consumers, well aware of the costs and inconvenience, are increasingly looking at alternatives to home delivery:
- Carrier Access Points: UPS Access Points (usually at off-site retail locations) or FedEx OnSite offices permit packages to be kept safely for pickup. This provides security but is carrier-specific and has restricted hours of operation.
- Amazon Lockers/Counters: These offer safe, self-service lockers for Amazon shipments, but are restricted to Amazon packages and have size limitations.
- PO Boxes: Convenient for USPS mail and packages, but once more, limited to USPS and will involve a visit to the post office during its hours.
- Building Concierge/Mailroom Staff: In high-end buildings, a doorman or special mailroom staff can receive packages. Still, this is an upscale amenity unavailable to most residents, particularly in older, unstaffed buildings prevalent in many urban neighborhoods.
- Direct Delivery Instructions: Useful for individual houses ("leave behind the planter"), in high-density urban areas, these tend to be ineffectual and depend upon driver compliance.
Although these solutions provide a degree of security, they tend to lack universality (not all delivery carriers), convenience (restricted hours, remote locations), or consistency, which means that there is a patchwork of solutions that may still involve hidden expenses or aggravation.
Stowfly: A Cost-Effective Shield Against Rising Delivery Costs
In this climate of increasing UPS rates and surging costs for failed deliveries, Stowfly emerges as a very cost-efficient and total solution. Stowfly's package receiving services explicitly tackles the underlying reasons for delivery failure and theft and, in the end, saves consumers money and peace of mind.
How Stowfly works:
- Secure, Neutral Delivery Address: Stowfly has an alliance with a large network of vetted local businesses (e.g., cafes, convenience stores, dry cleaners) as secure package acceptance points. When shopping online, consumers simply employ the Stowfly location's address as their shipping address. This prevents the vulnerability of residential doorsteps, shared building mailrooms, or insecure lobbies.
- Universal Carrier Acceptance: Another differentiator, Stowfly accepts packages from all major carriers – UPS, FedEx, USPS, Amazon, DHL, and others. That's all your online purchases can come to one secure, reliable location, without the inconvenience of dealing with multiple carrier pickups.
- Eliminates Redelivery Fees and Theft: By providing successful first-attempt delivery to a secure, staffed facility, Stowfly eliminates the necessity for expensive redeliveries and prevents the risk of "porch piracy." Packages are protected from the time they're delivered.
- PIN-Based Pick-Up: After receiving a package, the user receives a notification. Pickup entails a special PIN so that only the person who is supposed to receive the package can recover their parcel, an important added layer of security.
- Low-Cost and Transparent Pricing: Stowfly has reasonable and flexible subscription plans. For instance, subscriptions can begin at $7.50 per month for 5 packages or $15 per month for 15 packages, with an initial first-month free offer (Stowfly.com). This low and regular monthly fee is a contrast to the capricious and possibly high fees of replacing stolen goods, charging back fraudulently, or paying secret redelivery fees from carriers.
- Convenient Hours and Insurance: Stowfly stores usually have longer hours, with busy city schedules in mind. Every reservation also covers insurance (e.g., up to $1,000), with extra financial protection.
By using Stowfly, customers are not just getting a safe and dependable package storage solution but also, indirectly, circumventing the rising undeclared costs of carrier fees and unsuccessful deliveries. It's a preventive measure that takes advantage of local companies to make the "last mile" experience more efficient, secure, and ultimately less expensive.
Conclusion
The forthcoming UPS price increases of 2025 herald a larger trend of rising costs of parcel delivery due to operational needs and the intricacies of city logistics. These increased shipping charges are compounded by the widespread issue of missed and failed deliveries, which cost consumers billions of dollars in stolen packages and companies countless hours and dollars in operational waste.
Even as consumers have found numerous workarounds, an actual complete and economical solution has been an elusive one. Stowfly is an effective solution, turning the troublesome "last mile" into a secure, predictable, and cost-effective process. By offering a neutral, all-carrier secure delivery location, Stowfly assists consumers in avoiding the direct and indirect expense of missed deliveries and stolen packages, making it a wise investment in a time of increasing shipping costs.
As the package delivery landscape keeps changing, adopting innovative solutions such as Stowfly will be essential for businesses and consumers alike in safeguarding their bottom line as well as maintaining smooth movement of goods in a fast-changing world.
Learn more about how Stowfly is helping residents of Chelsea and Flatiron navigate through NYC’s package delivery predicament.
