Wholesale Next Day Air & Second Day Air rates.
Carriers mark up expedited air more aggressively than any other service.
A 5lb package going NY to LA costs around $15 retail on Ground and around $60 retail on Next Day Air — a 4× multiplier for 2–3 fewer transit days. Wholesale pricing compresses that markup. The same 5lb package at wholesale lands around $10 Ground and around $32 Next Day Air, so the absolute dollar savings on air dwarfs the savings on Ground.
If your business is half expedited air by volume, it's probably 70–80% of your shipping spend. Savings naturally follow the spend distribution — meaning air-heavy shippers see the fastest payback on switching to wholesale pricing.
The numbers on an expedited-air shipper.
The biggest per-label savings happen on cross-country expedited air.
What a biotech supply company typically sees.
The figures below are an illustrative scenario, not a specific customer result. Actual savings vary by shipping volume, lane mix, weight, and product type.
Consider a biotech research supply company shipping around 200 Next Day Air Early labels a week to university labs across the US. Packages have to arrive by 10:30 AM — priority-commit service, not standard NDA. At a retail tier, air spend alone could run on the order of $70,000/mo.
At a wholesale tier, those same ~800 NDA Early labels a month would commonly cost closer to $42,000 — a difference of roughly $28,000 a month, enough to cover a full loaded Ops Manager salary. Cutoff times, packaging, and carrier pickup routes stay exactly the same.
Why air-heavy shippers choose Priority Shippers.
- Biggest per-label savings in the industry on UPS Next Day Air, Next Day Air Early, FedEx Priority Overnight, and FedEx First Overnight.
- Saturday delivery accessorials pass through at carrier-published rates — no markup on an already-expensive line item.
- UPS, FedEx, and DHL contracts under one roof — your software auto-selects the cheapest carrier per international route.
- Rate transparency per label means your ops team can quote customers accurately for expedited upgrades.
Onboarding for air-heavy shippers.
- 1Send an air-heavy invoice.
We project savings specifically on Next Day Air Early, Next Day Air, and Second Day Air — the three service classes where the math compounds fastest.
- 2Confirm your service-level requirements.
Priority commit (10:30 AM) vs. standard NDA (end-of-day) vs. Saturday accessorial — all pass through under our wholesale tier. We confirm cutoff timing at your existing pickup hub before onboarding.
- 3Credentials and a test label.
You receive carrier credentials; a test label prints within an hour. Pickup windows, tendering process, and tracking stay exactly as they were.
- 4Weekly invoice, priority-tier visible.
Each priority-commit label shows the base wholesale rate plus the priority-commit accessorial at carrier-published pricing — no markup on the priority upgrade line.
Frequently asked
What's the latest I can drop off for Next Day Air pickup?
Depends on the carrier hub nearest you. UPS and FedEx both operate late-evening cutoffs at their main air sort facilities — around 7:00–9:00 PM local at major hubs in NY, NJ, and LA, later at some West Coast terminals. Scheduled-pickup cutoffs from your warehouse are earlier, typically 4:00–6:00 PM. Our onboarding team helps map the latest possible pickup window for your specific location.
Is Saturday delivery available on Next Day Air at wholesale rates?
Yes. Saturday delivery is a paid accessorial added to a Next Day Air label on both UPS and FedEx. The wholesale rate applies to the Next Day Air base; the Saturday accessorial passes through at the carrier's published amount (no broker markup). For weekend-critical shippers, that combination typically saves $4–9 per Saturday label vs. retail.
Can I get wholesale rates on international Next Day (UPS Worldwide Express, FedEx International Priority)?
Yes. International expedited air services carry the steepest retail markups of any shipping category — wholesale rates typically save 35–55% per label on UPS Worldwide Express Plus and FedEx International Priority Next Flight. Customs documentation, duties, and taxes pass through at carrier/government rates unchanged.
DHL vs. UPS for international — which is better?
Both. For Europe, Asia, and most of the world outside Canada/Mexico, DHL Express typically wins on transit time and volumetric pricing. For North American cross-border (US to Canada, US to Mexico), UPS and FedEx are usually cheaper because of dense ground-network coverage. Priority Shippers holds wholesale contracts with all three, so your software picks whichever is cheapest on each route.
How does dim weight pricing work on air services?
Dim weight applies on every UPS and FedEx air service — package billable weight is the greater of actual weight or (L × W × H) / 139 (for domestic air). The carrier calculates the dim weight, not us. Our wholesale rate applies to the resulting billable weight; we don't alter the dim-weight divisor or the calculation method.
Can I downgrade from Next Day to Second Day mid-shipment?
No — once a label is generated and in the carrier network, the service commitment is locked. You can generate a new Second Day Air label if the original package hasn't left your facility yet (void the Next Day Air label on your side, print the new one). The void is reflected on your weekly invoice.
Related resources
- Wholesale rates for meat distributors
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Read more - Wholesale rates for seafood distributors
Almost exclusively Next Day Air — the shipping category wholesale saves most.
Read more - How wholesale shipping rates work
A plain-English breakdown of carrier volume tiers and broker pass-through pricing.
Read more
Find out what you'd save in 60 seconds.
Send us a CSV of your recent shipments — or just a few screenshots of past UPS or FedEx shipments. We'll show you exactly what those shipments would have cost on Priority Shippers rates. No commitment, no sales call required.