UPS Adding Surcharges to Home Deliveries

It wasn't a very happy holiday season for UPS—for the second year in a row. In 2013, the company landed in hot water over an unexpected surge in gifts needing delivery, resulting in some 1.3 million packages that weren't delivered by Christmas Eve. This year, things went the opposite direction: The company hired an extra 100,000 seasonal workers, Consumerist notes, but the uptick in business didn't quite pan out as hoped. The result of all this is new costs for consumers. UPS plans a surcharge for residential deliveries, set to take effect over the course of a few years, Reuters reports.

"We absolutely will charge our customers more for the extra costs that we had in peak," CEO David Abney tells the Wall Street Journal. Home deliveries can place a special burden on the company, it says, because homes typically get just one package at a time, whereas a business might receive a pile. Customers may end up seeing higher shipping costs at online retailers, as well as more emphasis on pickup locations like Amazon Lockers in retail stores, Consumerist notes. (More UPS stories.)