How 3PLs bill shipping: pass-through, markup or their own rate card

Why the shipping basis matters#

The shipping basis is the rule that turns the carrier's charge into the amount on your invoice. For most direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands that ship on the 3PL's carrier accounts, postage is the largest share of total 3PL spend, larger than all warehouse fees combined, so for those brands the basis governs the largest line on the bill.

Small-parcel postage sits on the 3PL's own invoice in about nine in ten of Implentio customers' 3PL contracts, so in those contracts the basis prices each parcel the 3PL bills.

The three ways a 3PL bills shipping, plus your own account#

The bases differ in what you can see and who keeps the gap between the 3PL's buy rate (its carrier cost) and its sell rate (your price).

Many 3PL invoices call parcel postage "freight"; pallet freight (LTL or truckload) is billed differently (Freight (LTL/FTL) billing for B2B orders).

Pass-through at carrier cost#

Pass-through means the 3PL bills you what the carrier charged it for each parcel, with no margin on postage; the 3PL earns on warehouse fees and may add a separate label or processing fee. The word in a contract is a claim, and some contracts use it for cost plus a stated markup. The evidence is a shipment-level file, or a sample carrier invoice, that matches what you were billed.

Cost plus a markup: a percentage or a fee per label#

On cost-plus billing, a shipping markup is what the 3PL adds to its carrier cost, and it takes two forms:

• A percentage of postage, which grows with the label price and weighs more on heavy, far-zone parcels.
• A flat fee per label or shipment, which weighs more on light, cheap parcels and may appear as its own line, such as a "freight fee".

In the invoices we review, shipping markups are often not written on the rate card. Under cost-plus billing, the markup belongs in the contract, so you can check each charge against it. A per-label line can also be a charge for real work, because a label fee has several meanings; see Label fees, address correction fees and reshipment charges.

The 3PL's own shipping rate card#

On a 3PL's own shipping rate card, no carrier cost appears: the 3PL sets a price for each zone (distance band), billable weight and service, and any margin sits inside it. One 3PL's explainer says a 3PL with high-volume carrier deals can bill clients "at levels that sit below retail but above its own buy rates", earning that spread "in return for managing claims, billing issues and performance across many shippers"²; see Why 3PLs mark up shipping, and how parcel margin works.

A card quoted as "X% off" means little until you know the base. As of October 2026, UPS publishes daily and retail rates^3,4, FedEx list and retail tables⁵, and USPS Retail and Commercial prices^6,7. "25% off" one table, "25% off" another and "cost plus 25%" are three different prices.

In the 3PL rate cards we review, fuel is sometimes built into the rate, sometimes added at the carrier's weekly percentage, and sometimes set by the 3PL's own rule. Other surcharges vary too, and some services include residential delivery in the rate. Ask whether fuel is in the rate, because a fuel line added to a rate that already includes fuel is a double charge.

Some 3PL rate cards include the 3PL's own branded or pooled services, and the invoice may not name the carrier that delivered the parcel. These services can set their own dimensional weight divisor and threshold (What is dimensional (DIM) weight, and how is it calculated?).

Your own carrier account, all-in pricing and hybrids#

On your own carrier account, the carrier bills you directly. Your carrier agreement sets the DIM divisor, and the carrier bills later adjustments to that account. See Using your own carrier accounts vs. the 3PL's: total cost and control.

All-in per-order pricing, found mainly at large tech-enabled 3PLs, sometimes includes the shipping label, and one 3PL's flat per-order rate includes postage¹³. Hybrids use a different basis by carrier, service or channel (Hybrid approaches by service level or channel).

How surcharges, adjustments and rate increases flow through each basis#

Surcharges, later carrier adjustments and rate increases follow the shipping basis, so one carrier change can reach you at cost, marked up or on the 3PL's schedule.

As of October 2026, UPS and FedEx each set fuel as a percentage that changes weekly, and UPS applies it to transportation charges and "certain other accessorial, value-added and other charges"^8,9. A percentage markup on a total that includes fuel stacks on top of it, so ask what the markup covers. For each surcharge's mechanics, see Every parcel surcharge explained: fuel, residential, delivery area, extended and remote area, additional handling, large package, over-maximum, peak/demand, address correction, signature; for how 3PLs pass them through, see How 3PLs pass carrier surcharges through.

On the 3PL's carrier accounts, most 3PLs pass carrier adjustments through on a later invoice, as separate lines or folded into regular shipping lines; some brands see none. Many contracts don't say whether those adjustments are marked up.

FedEx says its standard list rates for U.S. package services will rise an average of 5.9% on January 4, 2027⁵; on pass-through and cost-plus billing, that reaches you on the carrier's date. Some 3PLs announce increases to their own cards with their own effective dates, sometimes as a notice rather than a new card. Get the pass-on rule, its effective date and any cap in writing; see Carrier general rate increases (GRIs) and how they flow through.

How each basis shows up on your invoice#

Shipping can arrive on its own invoice, as one total per carrier or service, so the invoice alone can't show which basis was used. Surcharges aren't always itemized on the invoice itself, and a markup may appear as its own line or not at all.

By default, one warehouse software platform shows a 3PL's clients label fees only on the generated bill, with settings to show actual or marked-up cost¹⁰. Ask for the shipment-level file (service, zone, billed weight, dimensions and each surcharge per parcel); see The supporting detail files you should always request.

Which basis is better for you?#

No basis is right or wrong in itself; the test is whether you can check each charge against a written rule. Pass-through or cost-plus suits brands that want to see carrier cost. A 3PL card can cost less when the 3PL's pooled discount beats yours by more than its margin. Carrier discounts follow volume, so your own account suits brands with enough volume to negotiate a carrier agreement that beats the 3PL's rates. We found no public figure for markup size with a stated method, so price your own parcels each way; see Negotiating shipping markup and carrier discounts.

How to tell which basis you're on#

Three checks show your basis:

1. Read the contract and rate card for the basis on each service and any markup number.
2. Ask for the shipment-level file and a sample carrier invoice covering a few labels.
3. Compare a few billed labels with the carrier's table for the same service, zone and billable weight, making sure it's the right table (daily, list, retail or commercial).

On cost-plus billing, the sample carrier invoice lets you check that each billed label equals carrier cost plus the markup your contract states; see Verifying shipping markup against your contract. Against a public table, a steady discount points to a 3PL card priced off that table, and prices that track no table to rates the 3PL set itself. On the 3PL's own card, the margin is inside the price and needn't be written down, so you judge the rates, not the margin.