Amazon Adds Fuel & Logistics Surcharges

Starting April 17, a 3.5% fuel and logistics-related surcharge will be applied to fulfillment fees across Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA).

Following news of major shippers such as UPS  and FedEx adding fuel surcharges in the wake of the war with Iran – plus the U.S. Postal Service’s planned launch of an 8% “temporary” price hike on package shipping services this month –  Amazon has announced a similar policy.

According to a statement third-party sellers received from Amazon.com, “Elevated costs in fuel and logistics have increased the cost of operating across the industry. We have absorbed these increased costs so far. However, similar to other major carriers, when costs remain elevated, we implement temporary surcharges on our fulfillment fees to recover a portion of the actual cost increases we are experiencing.”

The message continued, “Starting April 17, 2026, a 3.5% fuel and logistics-related surcharge will be applied to fulfillment fees across Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) in the U.S. and Canada as well as to Remote Fulfillment with FBA from the U.S. into Canada, Mexico, and Brazil. Starting May 2, 2026, this surcharge will take effect for Buy with Prime in the U.S. and Multi-Channel Fulfillment (MCF) in the U.S. and Canada.”

According to the etailer, the surcharge will be calculated on the seller’s fulfillment fees and not on the sale price of the items. On average, Amazon said this surcharge will be around $0.17 per unit for U.S. FBA, though this will vary based on the item’s size and dimensions.

For those who might not know the difference between a first-party or third-party seller, the latter are individuals and businesses selling and shipping products directly to customers shopping through the marketplace or Amazon Business. The primary difference between first-party vendors and third-party Amazon sellers is the management of pricing, shipping, customer service, and inventory.

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Third-party sellers sell products directly to customers shopping their product pages and use Merchant Fulfilled Network (MFN) shipping options or Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA), which includes storage, shipping, and customer service. Third-party sellers on Amazon have their orders packed and shipped directly to customers. FBA options can include customer-loyalty promotions such as free shipping or expedited shipping for Amazon Prime members.

First-party vendors indirectly sell products to customers through Amazon’s Vendor Central system. Unlike Vendor Central used by first-party Amazon sellers, its Seller Central is available for third-party sellers and doesn’t require an invitation from Amazon to log on.

‍Third-party sales reportedly account for more than half of the total sales made on Amazon.

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