September 11, 2026 Weekly Retail Supply Chain News

Major U.S. parcel carriers have locked in their 2026 peak-demand surcharges. UPS, FedEx, and OnTrac lead the pack, with additional-handling and oversize fees taking effect as early as September 26-28, followed by broader demand and residential-ground surcharges in late October. USPS is folding its increases directly into published rates over the same window rather than itemizing separate surcharges. Amazon Shipping is joining the peak-surcharge lineup for the first time as a service open to all shippers, not just its own marketplace sellers—though its fees don’t begin until October 25, roughly a month behind the other carriers. Across the board, the surcharge periods run through mid-January 2027, with the steepest rates concentrated between November 22 and December 26, the heart of holiday ordering season. The coordinated, carrier-wide fee increases leave retail shippers with limited room to dodge higher costs by switching carriers this peak season.

The National Retail Federation’s Global Port Tracker projects U.S. retail container imports will hit their annual peak this month, with September forecast at 2.31 million TEU—up 9.6% year-over-year and edging out July for the busiest month of 2026. The volume surge is arriving alongside compounding freight costs rather than because of pure demand growth: typhoon-driven port congestion in East Asia is keeping intra-Asia and trans-Pacific rates elevated, while ongoing drought conditions at the Panama Canal continue pushing some carriers to reroute away from it entirely. Cargo is still moving relatively smoothly overall, but vessel delays and longer transit times are becoming more common. For retail shippers, the result is a squeeze on landed costs just as Q4 inventory needs to be in position—making September’s peak less a sign of runaway demand than a reflection of how much friction is built into getting goods here on time.

The August Logistics Managers’ Index (LMI) reveals a growing gap between logistics costs and shipment volume. While overall inventory growth slowed (down 2.2 points to 52.8), inventory holding costs jumped sharply to 78.6 and warehousing prices remained elevated at 75. The data indicates that while retailers are keeping safety stock relatively lean to avoid oversupply heading into Q4, the operational cost to store and move those goods throughout the domestic network continues to exert margin pressure across the sector.