Up to now, dimensional weight pricing has been applied by the two big parcel carriers to air and express moves, as well as to packages greater than three cubic feet in size. As of the beginning of this year, however, the formula was extended to include all ground shipments. The idea is to charge shippers for the space that a package actually takes up on a truck. Boxes with lightweight contents or lots of filler will be especially impacted by the change. On this episode, we talk with Kevin Lathrop, president of Unishippers, a nationwide reseller of shipping services. He offers advice on how shippers can offset at least some of the increase. And he explains how the pricing change might actually yield benefits to shippers and manufacturers, in the form of reduced packaging materials and more efficiently designed products. Hosted by Bob Bowman, Managing Editor of SupplyChainBrain.

Look for a new episode of the podcast, which can be downloaded or streamed, every Friday on the SupplyChainBrain website and iTunes.

Show notes:

A UPS guide to determining billable weight.

A Unishippers article on adapting to dimensional weight pricing.

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