Essentially, the farther a package has to travel, the more expensive it is to ship. That’s because it costs FedEx more money to move your package longer distances. Therefore, it’s only natural that rates go up proportionally the farther customers are shipping. To put it another way, zones relate closely (but often not exactly) to distance traveled.Īs an example, a package originating in Knoxville, Tennessee has an origin ZIP code of 377.
ZIP codes with the first 3 digits between 376-379 are considered part of Zone 2. On the other hand, a shipment to a ZIP code starting with 902 would go to California and would be in Zone 8. When it comes to pricing, it would cost $9.87 to ship to Zone 2, but $14.97 to ship to Zone 8.Īs you can see, distance makes all the difference when it comes to pricing. How Does FedEx Determine Zones?įedEx determines its shipping zones according to the distance from the origin warehouse to the final destination measured in miles. If the distance from the warehouse to the customer address is farther, then it will be considered a higher zone. In the continental United States, FedEx divides its ground services (FedEx Home Delivery and FedEx Ground) into 7 different zones. These zones are numbered 2-8.ĭue to their extremely time-sensitive nature, Express services are divided into 16 zones for even more accuracy and precision.
