Shipments within the Netherlands
Every year, carriers, including PostNL, UPS, DHL, FedEx, DPD and GLS, set their rates for the coming year based on cost developments. Think of the development of fuel and wage costs. In addition, investments are needed to make logistics more sustainable and to meet the increasing demand. For example, investments are being made in new sorting centres, retail points and expansion of staff. The rates are increased at all carriers. They do this on the basis of the increase in costs and the NEA index. The new rates are based on developments in the e-commerce industry over the past year, in combination with the established NEA index: also known as the annual calculation of the cost increase in road transport. After the large growth figures in the e-commerce industry in 2021, the figures in the industry have fallen this year to the level before the start of the corona pandemic. The falling figures this year can also be attributed to developments in Ukraine and the consequences for the economy, such as high fuel and energy prices and inflation. All these developments together form the basis for the calculation of the NEA index. For 2023, the NEA index is set at 8.7%. The rates for the new year are determined throughout the market on the basis of the NEA index and the expected increase in costs. The high energy and fuel prices have a major impact on consumers and businesses. As a result of this increase, PostNL is forced to introduce an energy surcharge per parcel from 1 January 2023. This energy surcharge is € 0.12 per package and applies to all package types. As of January 1, 2023, PostNL charges an energy surcharge due to the high energy and fuel prices. It is not known whether this surcharge will go away once fuel prices fall. It is difficult to predict what the near future will bring.
Shipments within Europe
The weight of a shipment has a lot of influence on the processing process. Lighter packages go through the shipping process easier and faster than heavier packages. For this reason, PostNL will base the rates for sending EU shipments on weight scales from 1 January 2023. The rate of the shipment is determined by the weight of the package. A weight of 0 – 2 kg is assumed as standard.
