The higher fee on “over maximum limit,” or overmax, items is currently $500 and will jump on June 4. “The charge is intended to encourage shippers to use the UPS Freight network for these large items,” UPS spokesman Glenn Zaccara said.
UPS’s parcel network is primarily built for small and medium-size packages, which can zip through some automated sortation hubs at the rate of 416,000 an hour. Some large and irregular-size packages need extra handling and routing to bypass conveyor belts built for the smaller items, adding costs.
Packages that are longer than 96 inches on any side, or whose longest side plus girth — calculated as twice the width plus twice the height — exceeds 130 inches, already incur a surcharge of $80, according to UPS rate guidelines.
The overmax items are those that UPS doesn’t want in that network. Instead, it wants to move them on tractor-trailers.
