> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.vortexiq.ai/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Avg Shipping Cost, ShipTheory > Avg Shipping Cost for ShipTheory stores. Tracked live in Vortex IQ Nerve Centre. How to read it, why it matters, and how to act on it. **Metrics type:** [Key Metrics](/nerve-centre/overview#metrics-types-explained) • **Category:** [Shipping & Courier](/nerve-centre/connectors#connectors-by-type) ## At a glance > Average label cost per shipment, pooled across every UK sub-carrier ShipTheory's rate-shop selected (Royal Mail, DPD, Evri, Parcelforce, Yodel etc.). ShipTheory's value-add is rate-shopping; the cost-per-shipment moves with **sub-carrier mix** as well as carrier rate movements. A swing in this number usually means the rate-shop ruleset shifted volume, not that a carrier raised prices. | | | | ------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | **What it counts** | `SUM(label_cost) / COUNT(shipments)` for shipments in the window. Cost includes base rate + fuel surcharge + service surcharges (signature, residential, oversize). Excludes 3PL handling fees and ShipTheory subscription fees. | | **API endpoint** | `GET /shipments` (ShipTheory v1 REST) joined with `GET /labels` for cost data. Reads `label_cost`, `currency`, `sub_carrier`, `service`, `weight`, `dimensions`, `recipient_postcode_zone`. | | **Currency** | GBP for the UK-focused account; multi-region merchants see workspace base currency with FX at label-creation. | | **Service level scope** | All sub-carriers and services pooled. Per-carrier breakdown lives in [Cost by Zone](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/ship-theory/cost-by-zone) and [Sub-Carrier Volume Mix](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/ship-theory/sub-carrier-volume-mix). | | **Returns / RTO** | Outbound only. Returns Easy Print labels and RTO charges separated. | | **Mix-vs-rate sensitivity** | Cost dominated by **sub-carrier mix**. A swing from 50% Evri / 30% Royal Mail / 20% DPD to 30% Evri / 50% Royal Mail / 20% DPD lifts avg cost 8 to 15 percent without any carrier raising rates. | | **3PL handling fees excluded** | If your warehouse is a 3PL using ShipTheory, the warehouse's per-pick handling fee (typically GBP 0.50 to 1.50 per parcel) is **not** in this number. The 3PL invoices that separately. True landed cost = this card + 3PL handling. | | **Outliers** | Heavy / oversize parcels distort the mean; trim-mean variant in [Cost Per Shipment Trend](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/ship-theory/cost-per-shipment-trend). | | **Time window** | `30D vsP` (rolling 30 days, period-over-period) | | **Alert trigger** | `+10% vsP`. Tripped when 30D avg exceeds prior 30D avg by more than 10 percent. | | **Roles** | owner, finance, operations | ## Calculation Calculated automatically from your ShipTheory data. See the At a glance summary above for what the metric tracks and the worked example below for a typical reading. ## Worked example The UK home & garden merchant. Reading taken at 09:00 GMT on 12 Mar 26 for the trailing 30 days vs the prior 30 days. | Period | Shipments | Total label spend | Avg label cost | Sub-carrier mix | | ------------------------------ | --------- | ----------------- | -------------- | --------------------------------------------------- | | Current 30D (10 Feb to 11 Mar) | 14,800 | GBP 62,800 | **GBP 4.24** | RM 44%, Evri 20%, DPD 19%, Parcelforce 8%, Yodel 9% | | Prior 30D (11 Jan to 9 Feb) | 13,200 | GBP 50,200 | GBP 3.80 | RM 38%, Evri 30%, DPD 18%, Parcelforce 7%, Yodel 7% | | **Change** | +12.1% | +25.1% | **+11.6%** | RM up 6pp, Evri down 10pp | The card reads **GBP 4.24**; the alert at `+10% vsP` is **firing** at +11.6%. Five things to notice: 1. **Cost rose because rate-shop shifted volume from Evri to Royal Mail Tracked.** This was a deliberate operations decision in early February to reduce late-shipment count (Evri 9.8% late vs Royal Mail 4.8%). The cost lifted GBP 0.44 per parcel (\~ GBP 7,000 per month) but the late count and customer-complaint volume both dropped. The trade is intentional. 2. **The +11.6% trip is a pre-planned alert.** The operator should already know this is happening (they made the rate-shop change). The card confirms the cost impact is in line with forecast; no firefight needed. 3. **Total spend +25.1% on +12.1% volume.** Half is volume, half is mix. Finance forecasting must split. 4. **DPD held at 19% on premium SLA parcels.** DPD is the structural high-cost carrier; their share holds at the high-value slice regardless of overall mix shift. If DPD share drops materially, premium SLA shipments are being mis-routed. 5. **Yodel up to 9% from 7%.** Small share but rising. Worth checking whether Yodel's rate-shop wins are concentrating on a specific weight band or postcode area; if so, whether the per-parcel cost saving justifies the OTD risk (Yodel was at 11.7% late in the late-shipment example). ## Sibling cards merchants should reference together Avg cost is one number; mix and rate movements behind it are several. | Card | Why pair it with Avg Shipping Cost | What the combination tells you | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | [Cost Per Shipment Trend](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/ship-theory/cost-per-shipment-trend) | The 90-day shape. | Slope = sustained mix shift or carrier escalation. Step changes = carrier rate-card updates. | | [Sub-Carrier Volume Mix](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/ship-theory/sub-carrier-volume-mix) | The mix that drives the cost average. | Mix shifts here typically map 1:1 to cost change. | | [Cost by Zone](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/ship-theory/cost-by-zone) | Zone breakdown. | Identifies which lane is dragging. UK Highlands & Islands lane structurally 2 to 3x mainland UK. | | [High-Cost Shipment Outliers](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/ship-theory/high-cost-shipment-outliers) | Surfaces oversize / overweight shipments. | Outlier rise pulls mean up; consider median in addition. | | [Late Shipments](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/ship-theory/late-shipments) | Trade-off counterpart. | Operators frequently buy down lates by raising avg cost (rate-shop more to Royal Mail/DPD); both cards must be read together. | | [Sub-Carrier OTD Comparison](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/ship-theory/sub-carrier-otd-comparison) | Per-carrier reliability vs cost. | Direct evidence for rate-shop ruleset tuning. | | Cross-connector: [`shopify.aov`](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/shopify/average-order-value) | Margin sensitivity. | Avg cost / AOV ratio is the operative finance question. >12% of AOV is structurally hard to absorb. | | Cross-connector: [`bigcommerce.aov`](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/bigcommerce/average-order-value) | Same as Shopify for BC merchants. | Same caveat. | ## Reconciling against the vendor's own dashboard **Where to look in ShipTheory's own dashboard:** [ShipTheory Dashboard](https://app.shiptheory.com/) → **Reports → Spend → Average Cost**. The portal shows the same number with sub-carrier breakdown and zone breakdown. Closest like-for-like: *Last 30 Days, All Carriers, All Services, GBP*. **Why our number may legitimately differ from ShipTheory's portal:** | Reason | Direction | Why | | ---------------------------------- | ------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Carrier-invoice reconciliation** | Ours can drift slightly | Card reads `label_cost` from the rate quote at label time. Carrier invoices sometimes adjust for actual weight (dimensional reweigh) or fuel-surcharge corrections. Variance typically \<1.5%. | | **Surcharge attribution** | Ours sometimes lower | Some surcharges (residential, signature) post separately to the invoice; not always passed through ShipTheory's API. The card can understate by 2 to 4% for surcharge-heavy mixes. | | **3PL handling fees excluded** | Both exclude | The 3PL pick-pack fee is invoiced separately. | | **Returns labels excluded** | Both exclude in this card | Returns Easy Print is tracked separately. | | **Timezone** | Boundary days off | Card UTC; portal GMT/BST. | **Cross-connector reconciliation:** | Card | Expected relationship | What causes legitimate divergence | | -------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------- | | [`shopify.aov`](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/shopify/average-order-value) | Margin denominator. | AOV moves with promos. | | Stripe / payment-processor net revenue | Downstream truth on revenue side. | FX, refunds, processor fees. | | Direct carrier invoices | Source-of-truth on actual cost. | Card vs invoice should reconcile within 1%. | ***
Documentation cross-reference (for agencies running multi-platform stacks) UK aggregator cost averages move with sub-carrier mix; equivalent on EU and AU platforms moves with their own mix dynamics. * [ShippyPro Avg Shipping Cost](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/shippy-pro/avg-shipping-cost) (multi-carrier EU) * [Sendle Avg Shipping Cost](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/sendle/avg-shipping-cost) (flat-rate single courier, predictable)
## Known limitations / merchant FAQs **Why does my avg cost change when no carrier raised rates?** Sub-carrier mix shift. ShipTheory's rate-shop ruleset picks the cheapest qualifying carrier per shipment; mix moves week-on-week as customer geography and basket composition shift. Read [Sub-Carrier Volume Mix](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/ship-theory/sub-carrier-volume-mix); cost change here typically maps 1:1 to mix change. **My carrier raised rates and the card is flat. Why?** Three reasons. (1) Rate change applied to a service tier you do not use heavily. (2) Your rate-shop ruleset auto-shifted to a cheaper carrier. (3) Rate change posts to next monthly invoice but ShipTheory's quoted rate updated; card is forward-looking and matches next invoice. **UK Highlands & Islands surcharges, how do they show?** Most UK carriers add a surcharge for HD/HS/IV/KW/PA/PH postcodes plus offshore (IM, JE, GG). Surcharges are included in the card's avg cost. If your customer geography expanded into these zones, expect a structural lift even with no rate or mix change. **3PL handling fees aren't in this number, where are they?** 3PL invoices the merchant separately for pick-pack-handle. Most 3PLs charge GBP 0.50 to 1.50 per parcel. True landed cost = this card + 3PL handling fee per parcel. Build a separate model for finance reporting. **Why is my avg cost rising during peak?** UK carriers impose peak surcharges November to January (typically GBP 0.20 to 0.50 per parcel across DPD, Evri, Royal Mail). Your rate-shop still picks the same carriers; per-label cost is structurally higher. Plan budgets accordingly. **Should I switch to a single-carrier setup?** Trade-off. ShipTheory's value is the rate-shop dynamic; the volatility is the cost of optimisation. Single-carrier accounts are stable but typically higher absolute cost. Decision depends on margin sensitivity vs forecast simplicity. **Royal Mail OBA vs ShipTheory rate-shop, which is cheaper?** Generally ShipTheory rate-shop wins for variable mix. Royal Mail OBA is competitive at high volume on Royal Mail-heavy mix; if your account is 90%+ Royal Mail, OBA direct can save 5 to 10%. Test the breakeven against your specific weight-and-zone distribution. **Cross-border (UK to EU post-Brexit), does that affect this card?** Yes. Cross-border shipments carry customs declaration fees (DDP processing fee) plus higher base rates. If your EU export volume is rising, expect a structural lift in this card. Customs duty itself (paid by recipient or merchant separately) is not in the card; net true landed cost is higher. **Why does the portal sometimes show different number?** Filter state. ShipTheory portal applies workspace defaults that may exclude returns or include 3PL handling differently. Set portal to *All Outbound, All Carriers, All Services, Last 30 Days, GBP*. Persistent gap >2% = check connector health. **How do I plan for next year's carrier negotiation?** Read 90 to 180 day cost trend ([Cost Per Shipment Trend](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/ship-theory/cost-per-shipment-trend)). Mix-vs-rate split tells you which carriers to prioritise. Carriers with stable rate cards but rising volume share are leverage points; carriers with declining volume are renegotiation targets. *** ### Tracked live in Vortex IQ Nerve Centre *Avg Shipping Cost* is one of hundreds of KPI pulses Vortex IQ tracks across ShipTheory and 70+ other ecommerce connectors. Nerve Centre runs the detection layer; Vortex Mind investigates the cause when something moves; Ask Viq lets you interrogate any number in plain English. [Start for free](https://app.vortexiq.ai/login) or [book a demo](https://www.vortexiq.ai/contact-us) to see this metric running on your own data.