The cost of shipping depends on how quickly you need your delivery to go from where you are to where it needs to be. Expedited shipment can be a costly affair, and in many cases, it will not affect the arrival time of a package by more than fifteen to twenty-four hours. Shippers need to consider the importance of a quick delivery and weigh the benefits versus the costs.

Both UPS and FedEx can hasten delivery to get a package anywhere in the United States in just one day, and both companies charge, what some consider to be exorbitant rates, for the service. For example, if a ten-pound package needed to be shipped from Omaha, Nebraska to Denver, Colorado (neighboring states) on next day air, the shipper would pay just under one hundred dollars. If the same package were shipped via UPS Ground, it would arrive in two days and cost twelve dollars and change. The longest delivery time between the states, in fact, is two days, meaning, unless an emergency requires immediacy, the shipper should elect the cheapest avenue.

There are cases where expedited, next day, or two day shipping are a valuable option. If the same ten-pound package were to be shipped from Denver, Colorado to Ashland, Maine on Next Day Air, it would cost one hundred sixteen dollars. If it were shipped by UPS Ground, it would only cost twenty dollars. However, unlike the Denver to Omaha shipment, the Ground time would take five days. To make the package arrive in two days, as it would to Colorado from Omaha, the shipper would pay seventy-two dollars. In cases where shipping will take a longer amount of time, expedited shipment may be beneficial.

The main consideration for each package, to determine the value of a rush shipment is the value of the item and the time of its need. Customers should not pay for rush delivery only to receive their package sooner. However, if documentation or other important items are needed for legal purposes or other critical events, it is prudent to have a shipment hurried. Determining the factors that surround a shipment will help each customer to value the haste of his or her parcel’s arrival.