Recently, news of express delivery price increases has attracted attention. Some netizens said on social platforms that when they bought something on the e-commerce platform, the shipping fee was shown to be 4 yuan the night before, but it had risen to 8 yuan the next morning, doubling overnight. As for the reason for the increase in freight prices, the explanation given by merchants is that the war situation in the Middle East has affected transportation costs, and express delivery companies have increased prices.
A netizen from Yunnan also said that the express delivery he often sends has increased by four or five yuan per order.
If express delivery prices increase, can consumers still buy products with "9 yuan and free shipping" and "free shipping on returns"?
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Will prices increase more than once this year?
On April 14, Sino-Singapore Jingwei consulted the official customer service of SF Express, ZTO, YTO, STO, Yunda, and Jitu respectively as a consumer. SF customer service clearly stated that there has been no price increase in the near future, and ZTO customer service also stated that it had not received relevant price increase notices; YTO and Jitu customer service said that "the order is placed, and the outlet shall prevail."
In addition, Yunda customer service said,"Due to the impact of rising labor, material and operating costs, express prices will be adjusted accordingly. Please consult local outlets for details."
STO customer service said that the company headquarters has not issued any relevant price increase notice.Shipping costs have increased in some areas because local outlets have made price adjustments.
On the same day,JD Express responded to Sino-Singapore Jingwei that there has been no price increase recently.
Express logistics expert Zhao Xiaomin told Sino-Singapore Jingwei that according to his observation, some express prices have indeed increased recently, with the increase per order ranging from 0.1 yuan to 0.5 yuan. This has a greater impact on some e-commerce customers, but has a limited impact on individual customers and some negotiated price customers.
"As far as I know, some express delivery prices have been adjusted in more than 10 provinces. It is expected that they may be fully implemented in the second quarter, and all provinces may increase prices." Zhao Xiaomin said.
On April 14, the person in charge of a customized clothing e-commerce company in Zhejiang Province reported to Sino-Singapore Jingwei that he had recently received a price adjustment notice from an express delivery agent. The first-weight price increased by 0.2 yuan/kg, and the subsequent weight price increased by 0.3 yuan/kg. The reasons for the price increase include the continued rise in oil prices and rising operating costs.
Wang Yusheng runs an e-commerce company that specializes in customized puzzles in Yiwu City, Zhejiang Province. It cooperates with SF Express, ZTO, YTO, Yunda, Postal Service, etc., with hundreds of orders shipped every day. He told Sino-Singapore Jingwei that he has not yet received any price increase notices from these express delivery agents. "Our express delivery fee averages about 1.8 yuan per order, and the price is relatively stable."
Wang Yusheng mentioned that not all merchants will be affected by this round of express price increases. Different regions and different commodity types will be affected differently.
"Actually, it depends on the price you negotiate with the express delivery agent, that is, the negotiated price. If the negotiated price has reached a certain amount, such as more than 1 yuan/order, it may not increase this time; if the price negotiated before is below 1 yuan/order, it may increase a little. For example, for socks, the original express delivery fee may be 0.5 yuan/order, but under the current trend, it may rise to 0.6 yuan/order or 0.7 yuan/order." Wang Yusheng introduced.
As for the reasons for this round of express price increases, Zhao Xiaomin said that it was mainly due to factors such as the continued advancement of the industry’s “anti-involution” campaign and rising oil prices.
In July 2025, the State Post Bureau held a symposium on express delivery companies, and relevant responsible persons from express delivery companies such as ZTO, YTO, Yunda, STO, and Jitu participated. Key topics of the symposium include: managing "involution" competition in the industry in accordance with laws and regulations, strengthening the rectification of prominent issues such as illegal charges for express delivery in rural areas, and promoting high-quality development of the industry. Subsequently, under the coordination of relevant departments or associations, each express delivery company reduced low-price competition by controlling its own market share and implementing a relatively unified price increase strategy.
In Zhao Xiaomin’s opinion,Affected by multiple factors, the express delivery industry may see more than one price increase this year."The period from March to now is the first wave. Next, with the reform of distribution fees, the sinking of outlet incentive models, and the expansion of social security coverage for couriers, the industry may usher in a second wave of price increases."
After the news of express delivery price increases broke out, many consumers were worried about whether merchants and platforms would cancel freight insurance and related free shipping policies.
In this regard, Zhao Xiaomin said that in the short term, merchants and platforms will not cancel freight insurance. If freight costs continue to rise, some greatly affected merchants may adjust product prices and free shipping mechanisms, which will eventually be passed on to consumers.
Wang Yusheng also mentioned that currently merchants are responsible for their own profits and losses and will not easily cancel free shipping. "The impact of canceling free shipping is too big. There are too many similar products. If you don't offer free shipping, some merchants do."
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International express delivery prices are also increasing
In addition to domestic express delivery, international express delivery is also increasing in price.
Recently, many international express logistics companies such as UPS, DHL, FedEx, and SF International have also announced increases in fuel surcharge rates. Among them, in the week from April 13 to 19, DHL’s fuel surcharge rate increased from 39% last week to 46%, UPS increased from 46% to 48.50%, and FedEx increased from 46% to 46.75%; SF International’s import and export business paid by countries and regions outside Europe and the United States increased from 39.25% to 40%, and its import and export business paid by European and American countries increased from 18.5% to 19%.
Fuel surcharge is a part of the total express freight and is usually charged as a percentage of the base freight. Taking DHL's 46% fuel surcharge as an example, if the basic freight is RMB 100, the fuel surcharge will be RMB 46.
Sino-Singapore Jingwei noticed that in April, DHL fuel surcharge rates have increased for two consecutive weeks. In the week from April 20 to 26, they will further increase to 47.75%, nearly double the 28.75% in February 2026. After the fuel surcharge rates of UPS, FedEx, and SF International dropped from the previous week from April 6 to 12, they resumed their rise in the latest week (the week from April 13 to 19).
Source: Screenshot of DHL official website
DHL's official website disclosed that changes in fuel prices directly affect the cost growth of the transportation industry on a global scale, forcing companies to charge floating fuel surcharges for express shipments. That is, as fuel prices change, the fuel surcharges will increase, decrease, or be canceled accordingly.
The fuel surcharge rate has been increased, has the basic freight increased?
On April 13, Sino-Singapore Jingwei consulted UPS, DHL, FedEx, and SF International customer service as consumers. DHL customer service said, “There is currently no change in the basic freight on the market, but the fuel surcharge will be adjusted.” SF International customer service said that the basic freight has not been increased this month; UPS and FedEx customer service also said that they have not received relevant price increase notifications.