By Nathalie Voit

Amazon said on April 13 that it will add a 5% fuel and inflation surcharge across all product categories for U.S. sellers who use its fulfillment centers, according to a company notice obtained by CNBC.

The e-commerce giant said it will implement the fee by the end of the month and that it is “subject to change,” according to CNBC.

“The surcharge will apply to all product types, such as non-apparel, apparel, dangerous goods, and Small and Light items,” the notice sent to sellers stated. “The surcharge will apply to all units shipped from fulfillment centers starting April 28.”

The surcharge is in addition to fees Amazon already collects from third-party merchants who use its fulfillment services. Sellers who use Fulfillment by Amazon, or FBA, pay for inventory storage in the company’s warehouses and product fulfillment. Amazon handles shipping operations, customer care, and the returns process.

The majority of Amazon’s three million-and-counting active sellers in North America rely on FBA to fulfill their orders. According to research from e-commerce insights firm Jungle Scout, over nine in ten sellers (92%) fulfill orders using Amazon FBA. Nearly six in ten (57%) rely on FBA alone.

Amazon said the surcharge was needed to offset higher-than-expected inflationary costs.

“In 2022, we expected a return to normalcy as Covid-19 restrictions around the world eased, but fuel and inflation have presented further challenges,” a representative for Amazon said in an email to CNBC. “It is still unclear if these inflationary costs will go up or down, or for how long they will persist, so rather than a permanent fee change, we will be employing a fuel and inflation surcharge for the first time — a mechanism broadly used across supply chain providers.”

The fuel and inflation surcharge is 24 cents per unit, Amazon said. The figure is below UPS’s 42-cents fuel surcharge and FedEx’s charge of 49 cents.

The add-ons have been driven by record-high inflation in the market for fuels. Year-over-year, gasoline prices in March rose 48%, the Department of Labor said in an economic news release published on April 12.