In 2019, the USA was the largest single destination for exports from the UK – amounting to 13.1% of all exports, at a substantial £47.27bn ($58.4bn).
At MHI, during the past three months, 25% of our client’s material has been directed to the United States – that’s an impressive statistic considering the effects of COVID-19 on airfreight capacity into the country.
Therefore, the imminent postal price increases into the USA, that will come into effect within the next two weeks, are something that MHI have been planning carefully for. We have received many different queries, and have sought to provide some clarity below:
What is happening?
In 2018, Donald Trump threatened to withdraw from the Universal Postal Union (UPU) – the body which sets both the rules and rates for international mail deliveries. As a result, the USPS will be able to set their own rates for international inbound mail and parcels, with its new rate structure coming into effect from July 1st, 2020.
As a result of this, all national postal authorities are preparing for a significant price increase for goods exported into the USA – on both tracked courier services & untracked services.
How will it affect MHI clients exporting to the USA?
Since MHI utilize a variety of postal authorities & couriers to gain entrance to the USA, we will be incurring these price changes along with everyone else on certain routes. The full extent of these increases has not yet been confirmed from all carriers, but we understand it will be relatively substantial.
As some of our client’s material is classed as “printed matter” (books, publications etc.), MHI expect that these rates into the USA will not be as significantly impacted as if it were just goods being processed. However, there may be some small changes, and these are being communicated to affected clients.
What are MHI doing about it & how can we help UK retailers accessing the USA?
Fortunately, due to MHI’s agility within the international delivery sphere, we have multiple service options into the USA. We are currently in discussion with our own suppliers so that we can pass the best combination of rates & service onto clients and affected retailers.
As one of Europe’s leading independent specialists in international delivery & mail, we are confident that we are well-placed to navigate these price increases. We have a wide range of product-specific & direct domestic USA services that will help our clients mitigate the impact of these price rises.
How do I get in touch?
If you are a retailer looking to make use of MHI’s routes into the USA, then please get in touch by emailing enquiries@mhi.co, or calling us on 0117 977 6655. Alternatively, feel free to reach out to any of our business development team on LinkedIn.
