Both UPS and FedEx have a feature that allows the shipment of an order containing multiple parcels to ship with the related tracking numbers linked together in their system. This allows you to enter one of the tracking numbers for the shipment and access all the related parcels from that entry.

Many shippers are under the impression that there are cost savings for shipping multi-package shipments in this manner, as opposed to shipping each individually as they believe it is billed once for the combined weight.

Let’s look at two methods of billing: shipping packages individually versus using a combined weight method of shipping multiple packages as one shipment.

For the purposes of this comparison, we will exclude all surcharges for simplicity. It will simply compare both as Zone 5 UPS Commercial Ground shipments using 2025 UPS Published Rates.

In the example above, the 4 cartons are shipped individually. Each one is 10.1 pounds which rounds for billing to 11 pounds. Each 11-pound carton costs $19.78, so this shipment costs a total of $79.12.

If we use the combined weight method, which most people believe is correct, the same shipment will ship at a combined weight of 40.4 pounds, which rounds for billing to 41 pounds. In this scenario, the shipment would cost $43.80.

Since the examples above are US domestic shipments, the individual calculation method is correct. Even as a multi-parcel shipment, each freight handling unit is individually billed.

Both UPS and FedEx use individual parcel billing for all domestic shipments.

Multi-parcel shipments can be billed for some international shipping, for both UPS and FedEx.

UPS Services That Support Shipment Pricing

UPS refers to the combined weight method as “shipment pricing”, and it is calculated as the total of the billable weight of all packages in the shipment. It is available for UPS International Export Shipments using these services:

UPS International Import Shipments using these methods:

FedEx Services That Support Shipment Pricing

The FedEx services that support multi-shipment pricing include:

Elements of carrier pricing, particularly with UPS and FedEx, are subject to frequent change. While rate increases are typically well-announced, changes to surcharges and other service offerings are occasionally a layer deeper.

At one time domestic shipments supported multi-package shipping—UPS eliminated it on the domestic side in 2020, and FedEx eliminated it on the domestic side years before that.

Another added confusion is that many parcel manifesting systems are still calculating domestic, multi-parcel shipments incorrectly (by the combined method). This ironically includes ConnectShip, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of UPS.

Ecommerce shippers need to understand these less visible changes. For example, Delivery Area Surcharges and Extended delivery Area Surcharges are each tied to lists of zip codes that can change. The removal of 10 zip codes and the addition of 5 zip codes should not be viewed as a net-reduction of 5, since the added zip codes may be much heavier populated than the ones removed. These changes tend to slip attention, both from an awareness perspective and a system perspective.