Amazon will implement “temporary surcharges” on fulfillment fees tied to fuel and logistics, the company announced in a post on the Amazon Seller Central website.
Businesses, including Amazon, have faced increased operating costs tied to fulfillment and supply chains as a result of the U.S. and Israel’s war on Iran. The war has disrupted — and in some cases, halted — transit through the Strait of Hormuz. The strait runs between Iran and Oman, and about a fifth of the world’s oil normally flows through it.
As of the morning of April 3, the price of a barrel of crude oil reached $112. On Feb. 3, it was about $60, according to historical data from Trading Economics.
“We have absorbed these increased costs so far,” Amazon said. “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 U.S. Postal Service (USPS) has also announced a package-shipping surcharge. USPS expects the surcharge to have the greatest impact on small and mid-sized ecommerce sellers and distributors that depend on USPS for cost-effective ground shipping. This is part of a larger trend of implementing shipping surcharges tied to the war on Iran.
“We know this impacts your business,” Amazon said in the announcement. “The tools above are available to help you plan, and we will continue to evaluate this surcharge as conditions evolve.”
Amazon ranks No. 1 in Digital Commerce 360’s Top 2000 Database. The database is how Digital Commerce 360 tracks the largest North American online retailers by their annual ecommerce sales.
Amazon is also No. 3 in Digital Commerce 360’s Global Online Marketplaces Database. That database ranks the 100 largest such marketplaces by third-party gross merchandise value (GMV).
About the Amazon surcharge on fuel and fulfillment
Amazon said it will implement a 3.5% “fuel and logistics-related surcharge” beginning April 17, 2026.
It said it will apply the surcharge to fees across its Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) offering in the United States and Canada. Amazon will also apply the surcharge for “Remote Fulfillment with FBA” from the U.S. into Canada, Mexico and Brazil, it said.
Beginning May 2, 2026, the surcharge will also take effect for Buy with Prime in the U.S., as well as Multi-Channel Fulfillment (MCF) in the U.S. and Canada.
Amazon said it will calculate the surcharge based on sellers’ fulfillment fees, not on the sale price of their items. On average, Amazon said, that equates to $0.17 per unit for FBA in the U.S. However, it will vary based on items’ sizes and dimensions.
Amazon also said it has updated its Revenue Calculator, Profit Analytics, and Fee and Economics Preview reports to reflect the surcharge. The updates also provide per-unit and full-business impact for sellers’ FBA products.
“Due to the work we have already done together to lower costs, this surcharge is meaningfully lower than other major carriers,” Amazon claimed.
The surcharge also comes within a month of Amazon announcing one-hour and three-hour delivery options across the U.S. Amazon Prime members can select one-hour delivery for an added fee of $9.99 and three-hour delivery for $4.99. There are higher charges for non-members. The surcharge announcement also comes days after the end of Amazon’s Big Spring Sale in 2026.
In the Amazon Seller Central forum post announcing the fuel surcharges, sellers voiced their concerns over the fees.
“‘Temporary’ surcharges have a way of becoming permanent,” one wrote. “We’ve seen it with peak and fuel fees before — they never go away, they just get renamed. When costs go up, sellers pay more. When costs go down, fees stay the same. That’s not a temporary adjustment — that’s a one-way increase.”
Another seller also noted that the fees “are never temporary.” That user asked in the forum how long sellers should plan for fees to be part of their cost structure.
“This surcharge will be in place until further notice, and we’ll reassess as conditions evolve,” an Amazon representative replied.
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