From 17 April 2026, third-party sellers using Amazon in the USA and Canada will need to pay a 3.5% fuel and logistics surcharge.
The move comes as US fuel prices have reached their highest levels since 2022. The average US gasoline price on 6 April was US$4.12 (£3.07) per gallon, with diesel at US$5.64 (£4.07), according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA).
“Elevated costs in fuel and logistics have increased the cost of operating across the industry,” Amazon reportedly told the Associated Press in an emailed statement, noting that it had absorbed the increases so far.
Other major carriers in the US, including UPS and FedEx have also increased the fuel surcharges. USPS also announced a “time-limited price change to better align its costs of transportation with the market”.
Air freight cost implications
Jet fuel and distillate prices have increased “significantly more” than gasoline prices as a result of the supply side disruptions to Middle East exports, according to the EIA.
However, it cites other key factors causing higher distillate demand or market tightness including increased US exports to Europe due to sanctions on Russia, extremely cold weather in the Northeast USA, stronger than usual trucking demand in February and less renewable diesel supplementing distillate supplies than in previous years.
Although the US-Iran ceasefire is expected to bring some immediate relief to air freight rates, Xeneta analysts have warned a full return to pre-conflict capacity and rates on trades transiting Middle East hubs is still one to two months away.
Falling jet fuel prices will add further downward pressure, however, Niall van de Wouw, Xeneta chief airfreight officer cautions rates will not fall as fast as they rose.
takes place in Dallas in 2026, bringing the industry’s leading trade show & conference to one of North America’s most important logistics hubs.
