Every winter, the same email hits inboxes across the logistics industry.

“General Rate Increase Announcement.”

And every year, it’s bigger than anyone wants.

For third-party logistics providers (3PLs), small-parcel operators, and e-commerce fulfillment teams, General Rate Increases (GRIs) aren’t just line items. They’re margin killers.

Because when carriers raise rates, 3PLs don’t automatically get to raise prices.

Contracts are locked. Quotes are already out. Customers push back. Competition tightens.

So the increase often lands in one place:

Your margin.

Over the past several years, GRIs have become both predictable and painful:

• 2026: 5.9% 
• 2025: 5.9% 
• 2024: 5.9% 
• 2023: 6.9% 
• 2022: 5.9% 
• 2021: 4.9% 
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And that’s just the base rates.

The real impact shows up in:

• Residential surcharges
• Large package fees
• Additional handling charges
• Fuel adjustments
• Zone creep
• Peak surcharges
  ‍

The headline might say 5.9%, but many 3PLs see double-digit effective increases once everything is factored in.

Which raises a simple question:

How are 3PLs supposed to protect margins when shipping costs rise every year?

The answer isn’t negotiating harder.

It’s building smarter systems.

And it starts with two things:

1. Carrier diversification
2. Better shipping and billing visibility through AI-powered 3PL software

The Real Problem With General Rate Increases

On paper, a 5.9% increase sounds manageable.

In reality, it compounds fast.

Let’s say a mid-market 3PL spends $4M annually on parcel shipping.

A 5.9% GRI adds:

$236,000 in new costs overnight.

If margins are already thin, that increase can wipe out a huge chunk of profit unless it’s passed through or optimized away.

But most 3PLs don’t discover the damage immediately.

Because the problem isn’t just higher rates.

It's a lack of visibility.

Here’s what typically happens:

• Carrier increases hit quietly across invoices
• Surcharges change without clear notice
• Quotes don’t reflect real costs
• Contracts lag behind market pricing
• Teams rely on spreadsheets and manual checks
  ‍

By the time finance catches the issue, months of margin have already leaked out.

It’s death by a thousand small charges.

And most 3PL tech stacks weren’t built to catch it.

Warehouse systems track movement.
Finance systems track dollars.
Carrier decisions live somewhere in between.

That disconnect is where GRIs hurt most.

Why Carrier Diversification Matters More Than Ever

If you rely on one or two carriers, you don’t really have leverage.

You have exposure.

When a single carrier raises rates, adds fees, or caps volume, you have no alternatives.

You just pay more.

Carrier diversification changes the equation.

Not by adding complexity, but by creating optionality.

When done correctly, diversification allows 3PLs to:

• Route shipments based on cost and performance
• Shift volume when rates spike
• Avoid single-carrier dependency
• Protect service levels during disruptions
• Create negotiating leverage
  ‍

Instead of absorbing increases, you gain flexibility.

You can ask:

“Who is the best carrier for this shipment today?”

Not:

“How much will this carrier cost me this year?”

That’s a powerful difference.

But diversification only works if you can actually act on the data.

And that’s where many teams struggle.

The Hidden Challenge: More Carriers Can Mean More Chaos

Adding carriers sounds simple.

In practice, it can create operational headaches:

• More rate tables
• More invoices
• More contracts
• More reconciliation
• More billing errors
• More manual work
  ‍

Without the right shipping software or 3PL billing software, diversification can feel like multiplying complexity instead of reducing risk.

Which is why many teams stick with one or two carriers, even when they know it’s risky.

Not because it’s optimal.

Because it’s manageable.

So the real goal isn’t “more carriers.”

It’s:

More carriers + better visibility + smarter automation.

That’s what makes diversification profitable.

What Successful 3PLs Do Differently

The most resilient 3PLs don’t treat GRIs like surprises.

They treat them like annual realities.

And they build systems assuming rates will go up every year.

Here’s what they focus on:

1. Real Cost Visibility

They know their true landed shipping cost by:

• Carrier
• Service level
• Zone
• Customer
• SKU
  ‍

Not averages. Not guesses. Actual numbers.

That clarity allows smarter routing and pricing.

2. Accurate Billing

Billing mistakes compound GRI pain.

Industry-wide data shows:

• 32% of shipping invoices include inaccurate fees
• 41% of shipments are assigned to an inefficient carrier
• Most rate quotes miss real surcharge impacts
  ‍

Fixing errors often saves more than negotiating discounts.

3. Smarter Carrier Selection

They don’t rely on habit or preference.

They use data to decide:

• Cheapest viable option
• Best service performance
• Highest margin outcome
  ‍

Every shipment becomes an optimization opportunity.

4. Faster Decision-Making

Rate shopping, quoting, and repricing happen quickly.

Not weeks later after margins disappear.

Speed matters when costs change daily.

Where AI and Modern 3PL Software Change the Game

This is where legacy systems fall short.

Traditional shipping software and spreadsheets can’t process:

• Millions of invoice lines
• Complex surcharge rules
• Carrier performance trends
• Real-time margin calculations
  ‍

Humans simply can’t analyze that volume fast enough.

AI can.

Modern 3PL software powered by AI can:

• Audit invoices automatically
• Detect billing errors instantly
• Recommend optimal carriers
• Adjust pricing dynamically
• Surface margin leakage in real time
  ‍

Instead of reacting after losses, teams prevent them upfront.

That’s the difference between:

Reporting what happened
vs.
Controlling what happens next

Why This Is Exactly What DiversiFi Was Built For

At DiversiFi, we saw a consistent pattern.

3PLs weren’t losing money because they were bad operators.

They were losing money because their systems weren’t built to show them where profit was leaking.

GRIs just expose the cracks faster.

So we built software specifically for shipping economics.

Not generic logistics dashboards.

Not another WMS.

Not another TMS.

But AI for profit.

Purpose-built 3PL software that sits between warehouse operations, carriers, and finance to connect the dots.

Our tools include:

AI Billing Tool
‍Surfaces missed charges, incorrect fees, and invoice errors automatically.

Dynamic Markup Engine
‍Helps teams price services confidently as carrier costs change.

BidBoost (3PL bidding software)
Quotes faster and more accurately to win profitable business.

Together, they give operators real-time visibility into margin, not just activity.

The Impact So Far

Among early customers, we’ve seen:

• 2× increase in sales close rates
• 28% average margin improvement
• 18% reduction in shipping costs
  ‍

Not from working harder.

From making smarter, faster decisions with better data.

That’s what happens when you combine:

• Carrier diversification
• Shipping software
• Billing accuracy
• AI-driven insight

The Future of 3PL Profitability

GRIs aren’t going away.

If anything, they’ll become more frequent and more complex.

Carriers will keep adding:

• New surcharges
• Seasonal fees
• Dimensional pricing tweaks
• Service changes
  ‍

Waiting for stability isn’t a strategy.

Building adaptability is.

The 3PLs that win won’t be the ones with the lowest rates.

They’ll be the ones who can:

• See costs clearly
• Shift volume quickly
• Price confidently
• Protect margins automatically
  ‍

Carrier diversification gives you options.

AI-driven shipping and billing software gives you control.

Together, they turn GRIs from threats into manageable variables.

Bottom Line

General Rate Increases are inevitable.

Margin loss isn’t.

With the right carrier mix and smarter 3PL software, you can:

• Reduce risk
• Catch billing errors
• Optimize every shipment
• Protect profitability year-round
  ‍

That’s what real AI adoption in logistics looks like.

Not hype.

Not dashboards.

Just better decisions and stronger margins.

And that’s exactly what DiversiFi is here to help 3PLs achieve.

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