Pitney Bowes Announces 5.9% E-Commerce Rate Increase, Hiring Plans

Global shipping and mailing company Pitney Bowes has announced it will apply a 5.9% general rate increase for e-commerce services, effective Jan. 2, 2022.

The company also said it has made investments to gear up for what is expected to be a record-shattering e-commerce shipping season with more capacity, automation, and workforce expansions.

Pitney Bowes PBI said it planned to add "thousands of seasonal warehouse associates and drivers." It didn't announce a specific number. The company said it "has successfully hired more full-time employees ahead of peak and will be less reliant on seasonal positions both for package-handling roles as well as drivers."

Warehouse wages have increased between $3 and $5 per hour, the company noted, and any seasonal employees hired will have opportunities to remain with Pitney Bowes following peak as it seeks to grow its e-commerce business with a permanent workforce.

"Pitney Bowes has been building to this point for months, really years, improving our services, expanding our capabilities, and preparing our network, our teams, and our clients to meet the challenges of the holiday shopping season," said Gregg Zegras, executive vice president and president of Pitney Bowes global e-commerce.

The company has made a series of network enhancements since peak 2020, including:

• New e-commerce hubs in Boston, Columbus, Ohio, Seattle, and Dallas.
• New automation solutions, including AmbiSort AI-powered robotics for parcel sortation.
• Improved tracking and visibility of parcels within its network and accessibility by clients and their consumers.
• Increased use of machine learning and data science to project estimated delivery dates more accurately.
• An expanded Pitney Bowes-owned transportation fleet.

The general rate increase will apply to:

• Standard delivery of parcels weighing 1 pound or more through the Pitney Bowes U.S. domestic network.
• Standard returns through the Pitney Bowes U.S. domestic network.
• Cross-border delivery to 207 countries and territories with bundled quoting and compliance services.

"At Pitney Bowes, we pride ourselves on keeping our e-commerce pricing simple, straightforward, and easy to forecast. It's one of the commitments that make us unique in the marketplace," said Patrick Allard, chief revenue officer of global e-commerce for Pitney Bowes. "We're announcing our 2022 pricing earlier than ever to put our clients in the best position to anticipate and plan for their logistics spending in 2022."

Pitney Bowes had already announced peak-season parcel delivery surcharges of $1.50 per piece on all domestic shipments, effective Oct. 3. In addition, the company is applying weight-based surcharges on all shipments requiring expedited deliveries, which is a time-definite guarantee of three days or less. Shipments weighing up to 10 pounds will incur as much as a $1.25-per-piece surcharge. Those levies will climb to $3.85 for shipments weighing 11 to 20 pounds and up to $6.25 for parcels weighing between 21 pounds and the 70-pound maximum. 

There will also be a $1.50 surcharge on all deliveries of product returns, Pitney Bowes said. Cross-border international parcels also will be assessed a delivery surcharge of $1.50 per piece.

Click for more articles by Brian Straight.

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