Amazon is introducing a new 3.5% fuel and logistics-related surcharge on fulfillment services for third-party sellers, as rising operating costs linked to the war in Iran continue to ripple across supply chains.
The company announced that the surcharge will take effect on April 17 for Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) services in the US and Canada. It will also apply to Remote Fulfillment with FBA shipments moving from the US to Canada, Mexico and Brazil.
A second phase will follow on May 2, when the same surcharge will begin applying to Buy with Prime in the US and to Multi-Channel Fulfillment services in both the US and Canada.
Amazon has not given an end date for the measure. The company said the surcharge will be calculated based on seller fulfillment fees rather than the sale price of the goods. For US Fulfillment by Amazon services, the 3.5% increase equates to an average additional cost of $0.17 per unit, although the actual amount will vary depending on product size and dimensions.
The move places Amazon alongside a growing number of major logistics operators that are passing on higher costs to shippers and sellers as fuel markets remain under pressure. UPS and FedEx have both continued to raise fuel surcharges, while the US Postal Service is preparing to introduce an 8% temporary increase on package shipping services from April 26.
In its statement, Amazon said it had absorbed these higher costs up to this point, but that sustained pressure had made a temporary surcharge necessary.
The company also argued that its latest increase remains below the levels imposed by other large carriers, citing previous operational changes designed to improve efficiency and reduce cost exposure. In recent years, Amazon has reworked inbound fulfillment, promoted order consolidation into fewer boxes, and shifted its US logistics network away from a national model toward a more regional structure.
Even so, some observers remain doubtful that the surcharge will prove temporary. Noah Wickham, vice president of sales and marketing at Amazon seller agency My Amazon Guy, said in a LinkedIn post that he expects Amazon will likely retain the fee even if fuel prices eventually fall back and stabilise.
This is not the first time the company has added a cost-recovery measure tied to fuel. In 2022, Amazon introduced a 5% fuel and inflation surcharge on Fulfillment by Amazon services. Earlier this year, it also raised Fulfillment by Amazon fees in January, adding an average of $0.08 per unit sold.
