Amazon adds 5 percent fuel and inflation surcharge to US sellers
Amazon told sellers on Wednesday that it will be adding a 5 percent fuel and inflation surcharge to American sellers who use their fulfillment services amid rising prices.
Starting on April 28, Amazon told sellers it would be imposing a fee of 5 percent “on top of our current Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) fulfillment fee per unit rates.”
“In 2022, we expected a return to normalcy as COVID-19 restrictions around the world eased, but fuel and inflation have presented further challenges,” Amazon said in its notice.
“It is still unclear if these inflationary costs will go up or down, or for how long they will persist, so rather than a permanent fee change, we will be employing a fuel and inflation surcharge for the first time—a mechanism broadly used across supply chain providers,” it added.
The news of the surcharge was first reported by Bloomberg News.
The retail giant said it had already taken steps to support its sellers and sales online, including adding more than 750,000 full-time and part-time roles, doubling its fulfillment capacity and raising hourly average wage to $18 an hour, up from $15.
Amazon also claimed that its surcharge was lower than those levied by competitors such as FedEx and UPS.
“Like many, we have experienced significant cost increases and absorbed them, wherever possible, to reduce the impact on our selling partners. When we did increase fees, we were focused on addressing permanent costs and ensuring our fees were competitive with those charged by other service providers,” Amazon told sellers.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has compounded supply chain woes and rising inflation that began amid the economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Biden has taken a number of steps to combat record gas prices, including releasing millions of barrels of oil from the strategic reserve and allowing summer sales of a higher-ethanol fuel blend.
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