Shipping and carrier billing glossary

Accessorial charges are fees added to the base shipping rate for specific delivery circumstances. Common examples include residential delivery surcharges, fuel index adjustments, address correction fees, and additional handling charges for irregular packages. For shipments going to residential addresses, accessorial charges can represent a meaningful share of the total carrier cost.

An address correction fee is a fixed per-package charge carriers apply when they must modify an address — postal code, street number, or suite — to complete delivery. The fee is applied automatically, without prior notification to the shipper, and typically appears on the next invoice cycle. UPS and FedEx domestic correction fees are each approximately $18.50 CAD per package.

Billable weight is the weight figure a carrier uses to calculate the base shipping charge. It is the greater of the package's actual weight and its dimensional weight. Understanding billable weight before label purchase is the only way to know whether dimensional weight pricing will affect the cost of a given shipment.

Dimensional weight is a carrier billing method that charges for a package's volume rather than its actual weight when the two diverge significantly. It is calculated by multiplying length × width × height and dividing by a carrier-specific DIM divisor — UPS and FedEx domestic ground both use 139 (imperial), while Canada Post divides by 5,000 (cm³/kg) for Priority, Xpresspost, and Expedited Parcel, and by 6,000 for Regular Parcel. When a package's dimensional weight exceeds its actual weight, the carrier bills at the higher figure.

A DIM divisor is the carrier-specific number used to convert a package's cubic volume into a dimensional weight. It is divided into the product of a package's length, width, and height. Different carriers and service types use different divisors: UPS and FedEx use 139 for domestic ground shipments (imperial), while Canada Post uses 5,000 (metric, cm³/kg) for Priority, Xpresspost, and Expedited Parcel, and 6,000 for Regular Parcel.

A fuel surcharge is a percentage of the base shipping rate, adjusted weekly by major carriers based on published diesel or aviation fuel price indexes. For example, an 18% fuel surcharge on a $12 base rate adds $2.16 to the total. Because carriers update the index each week, the surcharge shown at rating time reflects the current index, while the amount billed reflects the index in effect at the time of carrier pickup.

Post-shipment billing variance is the difference between the shipping cost shown at label creation and the amount that appears on the carrier's final invoice. The gap occurs because certain charges — dimensional weight billing, fuel surcharges, residential reclassification, and address correction fees — are confirmed by the carrier after the package enters the network rather than at the time of rate selection.

A residential delivery surcharge is a fee carriers apply when a package is delivered to a home or home-based business. Carriers assess this classification at rating time using their own address records, and may update it during or after delivery. When a carrier reclassifies an address as residential after the package enters the network, the surcharge is added to the final invoice — a scenario our team can advocate on your behalf to dispute.