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Shippers accustomed to forking over surcharge money just for their parcels’ physical profile and not for the distance they move may need to rethink how they distribute their goods, said Dunham. “This is the type of fee that forces them to take a hard look at their networks,” he said. Gibbs of The Refund Retriever said software tools are available that will provide customers with a heads-up on how the zone pricing will affect their costs.

However, Gibbs said that the higher surcharge levels, especially over the longer hauls, are meaningful enough to possibly force the carriers’ customers to stop making or carrying certain items. It will be challenging for the customers to pass on higher charges to end users who’ve grown accustomed to “free” or nominally priced shipping, Gibbs said.