The U.S. Postal Service announced two changes to how it calculates dimensional weight pricing for large, lightweight packages effective July 12, with the agency now rounding up all fractional measurements of package dimensions to the next whole inch (a 12.2-inch measurement will be calculated as 13 inches) and changing its dimensional weight divisor from 166 to 139. The new divisor brings USPS in line with FedEx's typical 139 divisor and UPS's daily rate divisor of 139, with experts noting that the lower divisor means dimensional weight billing will apply to more shipments regardless of their actual weight, increasing costs for lightweight but bulky packages. The changes will impact Ground Advantage, Parcel Select, Priority Mail, and Priority Mail Express packages that exceed 1 cubic foot and are subject to dimensional weight pricing, with the changes taking effect the same day USPS expands its dimensional reporting requirements and eliminates ounce-based rate differences for Ground Advantage Commercial shipments.
