How this data is compiled, checked and used
The rules behind every number, every calculation and every source on this site.
Where the numbers come from
Amounts come from UPS and FedEx public documents: their annual surcharge change notices, demand surcharge schedules, fuel surcharge pages and package-size pages. Each amount is stored with the carrier, its own name for the charge, the effective window, the source and a status. See the source registry.
Verification
- Verified: read from the carrier’s own document.
- Pending verification: taken from a published summary of a carrier document (for example UPS’s 2027 preview, as reported by two independent industry publications), or where sources disagree. Shown with a label and never presented as confirmed.
- Unavailable: not established. Never replaced with zero.
Effective dates
Every lookup is made for a specific date. Current rules are never applied to past dates, and announced future rates are never applied before their effective date. Coverage starts Dec. 1, 2025.
Calculations
The calculators use deterministic, written-out rules for each carrier: rounding (every fraction of an inch rounds up), thresholds (strictly greater than), the new 2026 cube and weight triggers from their effective dates, minimum billable weights, and which charge replaces which. One Additional Handling charge applies, the highest; Additional Handling is not added to Large Package (UPS) or Oversize (FedEx). Where a stacking rule is not confirmed, as with UPS Over Maximum Limits combined with Large Package, the result is marked incomplete rather than guessed. No AI is used to compute any number. Dimensional weight is shown at the list divisor of 139, which many contracts change.
The calculation engine has automated tests that check its arithmetic and its rule boundaries (for example, exactly 10,368 in³ does not trigger and 10,369 does). These tests check that the engine follows the rules as written here; they are not an independent audit by the carriers.
Data rights register
| Source type | Permitted use here | Not done |
|---|---|---|
| Carrier public surcharge documents and web pages | Re-stating published amounts and rules as facts, with attribution and links | Reproducing complete guides; using carrier logos; implying affiliation |
| Carrier APIs (UPS Technology / API agreements, FedEx developer terms) | Not used. UPS’s technology agreement restricts using its information for rate negotiation and information services, and FedEx’s developer license prohibits automated carrier-comparison features. | No API data, no automated rate comparison from carrier systems |
| Automated collection from carrier sites | Not used for this site. Data is entered by hand after review. | No scraping, no bypassing access controls |
| Industry publications | Only to flag amounts as pending verification, always attributed | Never presented as a carrier source |
| Customer invoices and contracts | Not collected on this site | No uploads until secure processing is built and reviewed |
Features that would need permissions not yet confirmed, such as carrier API integrations or redistributing complete ZIP lists, are flagged for legal review and are not built.
DAS ZIP lists
Carrier ZIP lists are loaded by an administrator from the carriers’ own published files and stored privately for lookups. The site answers questions about the ZIP codes you enter; it does not publish the complete lists.
Roadmap and known limitations
- Verify UPS’s 2027 amounts against the UPS preview PDF (currently pending).
- Confirm FedEx U.S. Service Guide thresholds and minimum billable weights line by line (currently pending).
- Load the official DAS ZIP lists (UPS from Dec. 21, 2026; FedEx from July 20, 2026 and Jan. 4, 2027) and add historical list comparisons.
- Extend history back to 2016 from verified carrier documents only.
- Add more accessorials: Saturday services, pickup fees, billing and payment fees, international charges.
- Add a review-and-approve workflow for new carrier documents, with version history and rollback.
- Secure, authenticated invoice analysis with encryption, retention controls and audit logs. Not launched; no uploads are accepted today.
- Surcharge watchlist e-mail alerts.