Amazon Announces New Fee As Gas Prices Surge

As oil prices across the globe have begun to skyrocket as a result of the conflict in the Middle East, it sounds like some Amazon products are about to get more expensive as a result.

This week, Amazon announced a new fee for third-party sellers in the United States, adding a“fuel and logistics-related surcharge” to the fees it collects from those sellers who use its fulfillment services.

Oil Prices Surge

Following the attacks from Israel and the United States on Iran, the global price of oil has skyrocketed, leading to increases in prices for fuel, both at the gas pump for consumers and jet fuel for airlines and shippers.

Before the initial strikes against Iran on Feb. 28, the global price of oil was below $60 per barrel. Now, the price has been consistently over $100 for more than a week as the conflict has caused logistical disruptions, especially in the Strait of Hormuz, where 30% of the world's crude oil passes through.

Obviously, the longer the conflict stretches on, the more consumers are going to start to feel the ramifications.

Amazon Announces New Fee

On Tuesday, Amazon announced that it would be adding a 3.5% “fuel and logistics-related surcharge” to the fees it collects from third-party sellers who use its fulfillment services in the United States and Canada.

Amazon told the sellers that the new surcharge will go into effect on April 17.

“Elevated costs in fulfillment and logistics have increased the cost of operating across the industry,” Amazon wrote in its letter to sellers in the U.S. and Canada, via CNBC. “We have absorbed these increased costs so far. 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.”

Amazon spokesperson Ashley Vanicek said in a statement that the surcharge is “meaningfully lower” than levies applied by other major carriers.

“We remain committed to our selling partners’ success and to maintaining broad selection and low prices for customers,” Vanicek said in a statement, via CNBC.

It's worth noting that this new surcharge is being given to the sellers on Amazon, not a new fee directly on the consumer. However, it's likely that the cost will ultimately be passed to the customer through higher prices, as was the case with the tariffs earlier this year.

Not Just Amazon

Amazon is not the only logistics service adding a surcharge like this. Last month, the United States Postal Service announced plans to impose a fuel surcharge on packages beginning on April 26, “to better align its costs of transportation with the market.”

Additionally, shipping carriers UPS and FedEx also imposed higher fuel surcharges as a result of the Iran war.

Some airlines have even begun charging fuel surcharges for longer-haul flights.